The Glass Prison
by Ninjalara
Summary: The turtles are captured and exposed to society. *Completed*
1. Free No More

The Glass Prison.

Disclaimer: The turtles are owned by two lucky guys. I don't own them but I wish I did. Venus has been disowned, so I have no idea if anyone owns her. If no one claims her, then she's all mine! ;o)

Note: This fic is rated for language, adult scenes and character death. Please take note of the genre so that you don't expect everything to be fine and dandy for our green friends. I'm surprised that I haven't found a fic like this yet where the turtles are completely exposed, cause it seems to be a very likely scenario. So that's why I'm writing this. The story is set in the TNM universe.

Chapter 1: Free No More.

"RAPH! Why do you have to be so stubborn?!" Leonardo protested. Once again a small problem such as what show to watch on television, had been blown out of proportion, creating an escalating violent argument. 

"Well why do you have to be so bloody PUSHY! Just because you're the leader doesn't mean that you can rule every fucking moment of my fucking life!" Raphael yelled back, eyes burning with anger. Leonardo glared back at his brother, fists curling up as he struggled to keep his arms down by his sides. His patience was as thin as a piece of paper.

Michelangelo, Donatello and Venus all sat on the couch, trying to drown out the angry exchanges being held in front of them. Things had been like this ever since Splinter had passed away six months ago. The elderly Ninja Master had caught a cold that later led to his demise. Everyone in the lair was devastated. Leo especially, as he had to deal with his own feelings along with taking care of the rest of his mourning family. The turtles had been coping with the loss alright at first, thanks to the help of April and Casey. But after a horrific car accident resulting in the death of their human friends, things began to go rapidly downhill. 

Raphael was affected the most emotionally and grew more and more frustrated as each day passed. Leo tried his best to comfort Raph, but his brother refused his help. Friction slowly built up between the two turtles, painstakingly breaking the clan apart. The other three turtles always found these fights painful to watch. At first they attempted to stop the bickering between Leo and Raph, but now they had given up and left them to resolve it by themselves. 

"I'm not pushy Raph! I just… I just want us to be a family again," Leonardo admitted using a slightly softer tone. Raphael paused angrily, contemplating on what to say next.

"Leo, we haven't been a family since Splinter died," Raph said almost inaudibly.

"I know Raph, I know," Leo whispered, feeling exhausted from arguing. Mike put aside the television remote control he was hogging after realising that they weren't going to watch much tonight anyway.

"Let's go to the park," Mike suggested, sounding cheery compared to the scene that lay before him. "You know, as a family. Like old times."

"You know what? You're right Mike. Let's go to Central Park," Leonardo announced. Little did he know that this would be the last time all five of them would be together.

*****

"Hey, remember the time when Dr Quease made a clone of Donny, and we couldn't figure out who was who?" Mike reminisced while chewing on a slice of pizza. It had been a habit of the turtles to make fun of their defeated enemies; retelling stories of their past adventures. Currently, they didn't have many adversaries. Dragon Lord and Shredder had been destroyed, thanks to Venus' Shinobi powers, while Silver's gang members had been arrested by the cops, leaving the talking ape helpless to commit any form of crime. Dr Quease had chased after the turtles for a while, but eventually gave up and went back to doing scientific research from the safety of his own home. It was weird, having time to spare; but they all had to admit that it was a welcomed change of lifestyle.

Raphael gave a smirk, remembering the battle Mike was talking about. "Yeah. We didn't bother finding out who was the clone, so we just shoved Donny in to fight, to figure it out for himself," Raph chuckled before grabbing another pizza slice out of the box. 

Leonardo sighed. It was so good to get out of the lair. The grass was fresh and springy beneath his resting body. The slight breeze caused the leaves of the tree that they were sitting under, to rustle peacefully. He sighed once again. "This was a good idea Mikey," Leo admitted. Mike smiled in response.

"It's such a lovely night tonight," Venus commented, looking upwards towards the cloudless dark sky.

"I'm surprised that it's so clear. Especially after all of the rain we had around lunch time," Donatello noted. The others agreed while admiring sky. Suddenly, Raphael felt a hard prick on his neck. He quickly placed his hand on the area where he was hit, and pulled out the tranquilizer dart. The others stared at the object his hand before Raph slipped into a sleep.

Alert, the others jumped up and looked around for the enemy. '_Bonesteel_,' Leonardo thought as he guarded his sleeping brother. The turtle in blue felt a prick on his arm and soon after fell to the same fate as Raphael. 

Mike, Don and Venus began to panic, as they still hadn't found the whereabouts of the hunter. Bonesteel was one of the last remaining enemies the turtles had. Unlike other foes, Bonesteel had the stamina of a true psycho, never backing down and never giving up until he won his prize. He was cunning; knowing just about everything you would need to know about the turtles that he'd hunted for so long. 

"Alright Bonehead! Show yourself!" Donatello called out, taking charge of the situation. The three reptiles stood in a fighting stance, preparing for anything. "Ow!" Don yelped as he was shot with a tranquil on his right thigh. He collapsed heavily on the ground, leaving Mike and Venus on their own. 

Bonesteel chuckled to himself and stepped out from the bushes he was camouflaged in. He raised his tranquilizer gun for protection. Angered, Mike and Venus ran to attack. Mike was shot at before he could reach the hunter, but Venus made it and kicked Bonesteel to the floor. She grabbed his weapon to disarm him before she could suffer the same fate. It was then when Venus felt an awful prick in the back of her neck. Before she fell asleep, she turned to look at Bonesteel's surprise accomplice armed with another tranquilizer dart gun.

Bonesteel and Leeroy glanced at the five fallen turtles. "I have to say that I didn't believe you at first, Bonesteel," Leeroy admitted.

"Most people don't," the hunter answered back. Leeroy reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. After a quick conversation, Leeroy returned the phone back into his jeans. 

"They'll be here to pick them up in ten minutes," Leeroy informed Bonesteel. "I'm glad you didn't kill these guys like you had intended to a month ago. These turtles are worth a heck of a lot more alive than dead. You're going to be a very rich man, after you get paid for this hunt," said Leeroy.

Bonesteel couldn't help but grin at his accomplishment. "They're your responsibility after tonight. It's not my fault if they escape. Just watch out for Leonardo and Raphael," Bonesteel commented.

"Who?"

"The blue turtle and the red one. They're the stronger and the more dominant ones," Bonesteel explained.

"Oh. What else do you know about them?" Leeroy questioned.

"Just about everything. I could tell you, but my knowledge comes at a price," the hunter enticed.

"Well like I said before, you're going to be a very rich man. Name your price Bonesteel, and let's talk," Leeroy said while getting out his wallet.

*****

Mike shivered where he lay. The ground was hard and cold, making him wonder why he was sleeping on the lair's floor and not on the couch. Suddenly Mike remembered the events that occurred in the park. His eyes shot open and jumped in surprise when he saw his brothers above him, staring back down. "You're finally awake Mikey," Donatello said softly, helping him to stand up. 

Mike wobbled a bit before maintaining his balance. After his eyes adjusted, Mike observed his surroundings. They were in what seemed to be a prison. There were four walls that caged them; three of them were made of glass while the last one was made of steel. The steel wall had a metallic door built into it and seemed to be the only way both in and out of their cell. At the moment, both Leo and Don were trying to force open the door to freedom, but it looked too strong and tightly shut to be moved that easily. 

Raphael, meanwhile, was trying to break the glass. Mike watched as the angered turtle bashed and banged the clear wall repeatedly. The glass seemed to effortlessly bounce back after each hit, making Raphael's attempts futile. 

Mike continued to look around the cell. A simple toilet stood in the corner along with a roll of toilet paper. Mike shuddered at the thought of having no privacy whatsoever. He noticed a small metal grate built into the steel wall, above the door. Obviously their source of air supply, and not an option for an escape route due to its size. The last thing he noticed was a metal tray containing food that was built into the glass wall opposite to the steel one. It reminded Mike of the tray seen in Hannibal Lector's cell in the 'Silence of the Lambs' saga. 

It was then when Mike looked further than the room that they were in. The steel wall continued past the turtle's confinement and was used as the perimeter for a larger room. The three glass walls seemed to have been built on from the steel perimeter, causing the prison they were in to jut out into the bigger room. Four other glass cells similar to their own was also built along the metal wall. One of them contained Venus.

"Venus…" Mike whispered as he stared at the lonely female turtle. By now the others had given up trying to escape for now, and had joined Mike in staring at Venus. She sat on the concrete grey floor of her cell, her arms hugging her cold legs. She looked lonely and slightly frightened as she sat there shivering. Venus quickly noticed the stares from the boys and looked up to acknowledge them. Leo put his hand on the glass as an attempt to comfort her. He wanted to reach out and hold her, tell her that everything would be ok; but it wasn't and he couldn't get any closer towards Venus. She put her hand on the glass wall as well, wanting to be with them. She said something, but the boys couldn't hear.

"Venus, we can't hear you!" Leo called out. Don placed a hand on his leader's shoulder.

"It's useless Leo. If we can't hear her, then she can't hear us. The glass is soundproof. That's why it doesn't break easily," Don said. 

"But it's glass!" Raph said, getting frustrated. He punched the glass again.

"I know it is. But think of it as if it was a plastic," Don said.

"Why isn't Venus here with us?" Mike wondered out loud.

"Because she's female," Leo said gloomily. 

"They obviously don't want us together. Not yet anyway. They want to study us, otherwise we would have been dissected by now," Donatello said sadly.

Three humans entered the outside room through a door labeled 'Staff only'. They each held clipboards and wore white lab coats. They stared at their specimens in their glass prisons. A control panel stood beside them, which the turtles assumed activated and controlled the steel doors to their cells. Raphael growled menacingly as the doctors said things about them that they couldn't hear.

*****

"Wow. They're magnificent. And they came from right here, in New York," the female doctor said, staring at the furious turtle in red. "What's with the bandannas?"

"I don't know. But the hunter that caught them said that the bandannas were important to them. So I kept them on. Besides, it helps us to tell them apart," Dr Welner explained. "I want those blood samples that we collected from them earlier to be studied. Give me a map of their DNA structure. Now remember, we have to keep them healthy if we ever want to release them to the public. Already the media is all over them. So as a rule, there is to be no experiments done to the specimens themselves. They are not to be harmed. So for now we'll study their byproducts. Is that clear Dr Yesmal and Dr Aquel?" Welner asked with his authority. The other two doctors nodded in agreement.

Dr Yesmal looked curiously at the talking turtles. "I wish I could know what they're saying," he said.

"It's best not to know," Welner said simply. "The soundproof glass is to protect us. I've been told that they talk like humans. It's best not become attached to our specimens. They're animals; scientific anomalies and should be treated as such. If we could hear them, then they'll try to get us to help them to escape," Welner added.

"Several members of the public have come forward claiming that they know where the mutant's lair is. Apparently they used to be in some sort of gang called the Foot, and were old enemies of the turtles. Of course, they won't show us without some sort of payment," Dr Aquel informed Welner.

"We'll have to pay them then. I'm interested to know what their habitat looked like," Welner said before jotting something down on his clipboard. "Come. Let's go and find their lair." The three doctors quietly left the room, leaving the turtles alone once again. 


	2. The Alpha and Beta Males

Chapter 2: The Alpha and Beta Males.

"ARG!" Raphael exclaimed and punched the glass wall again. "I can't believe we where brought down by Bonehead!" He said for the umpteenth time. Leo rolled his eyes. For the past three days Raphael kept dwelling on the past; angry with both himself and the situation they were currently in. Leonardo wished he could get his brother to focus more on their future; to move on, but he didn't want to argue with the enraged turtle. Compared to other tense times, Raphael had been keeping his anger more to himself; dueling it out on the wall rather than his cell mates. No one really complained about this, as each of them secretly wished that the glass would finally break once Raph had hit it enough times.

With all honesty, none of them were too thrilled about being trapped in a confined area with the brooding reptile. They all knew for a fact that Raph didn't like to stay in the same place for extended periods of time. Even when they were in the lair, Raph always had to get out and roam the streets. He was already agitated, and the other turtles knew that it would only be a matter of time before he snaps. However, even though he was angry, they were glad that they had each other. At least Mike was around to help calm him down. 

Unlike Raphael, Mike had kept a rather positive attitude. Leo was glad his youngest brother was with him, as he would simply die of boredom if he weren't. Without a doubt, Mike provided most of the entertainment. He was usually laughing or joking, and sometimes aggravated Raphael because of it, as he couldn't understand what was so funny. Leo didn't mind the non-serious tone Mike took, as it helped raise their group morale. But deep down inside, each of them knew that Mike was really only hiding his fear under his smile. They knew that because they could all hear him cry in his sleep at night. 

The nights were cold and long. The turtles were forced to sleep on the hard, concrete floor, as there wasn't an alternative. There was no natural lighting in the building they were in. But they presumed it was daytime when the lab lights were flicked on. During the day, Leo had noticed that unnatural heat was emitted from somewhere in the room, and that the warmth was turned off during the night. Donatello suggested that the scientists wanted to recreate a natural climate; heating to ensure the cold-blooded reptiles were kept active. 

Leo stared at Donatello. The brainy turtle had his carapace up against the steel wall. His mind was focused on his twiddling thumbs as they circled round and round; a new habit Leo had noticed him pick up over the past few days. Don had been withdrawn, as though he was lost in his own thoughts. Leo could sympathise with him, as he realised that Donatello's world of computers, technology, science experiments and intellectual reading materials no longer existed in their new environment. He didn't say much, and when he did, it was usually an observation or a short comment. Leo decided not to bother him, as he was probably thinking up a plan to escape, or trying to figure out the scientist's motives. The first day was rather tense, as none of them knew what the humans intended to do them. But after three days and no signs of needles, the turtles came to the assumption that they were simply being observed, at least for the time being; so they allowed themselves to relax a little. 

"Ok, I've got one!" Mike piped up when there was a break in-between Raph's glass banging. "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'G'," Mike chanted.

"GLASS!" Raph yelled in frustration as he backed up and performed a flying kick into the clear wall. Leo couldn't help but smile at Mike. Whenever the orange bandanna-wearing turtle played 'I Spy', he always chose the letter 'G', and the answer was 'glass' every time. Over the three days, this had now become a bit of a joke. 

There was silence once again. The only noise filling the void was Raphael's panting from his glass-bashing workout. 

"Wanna play 'Fruit Salad'?" Mike asked innocently, breaking the silence once again. Raph and Leo gave him a smirk.

"How are we going to play that Mikey? We only have four people," Leo said sensibly.

"Yeah, what are we going to do? Get up and run around one person!? We'll only have two fruits to call out!" Raphael remarked. Mike pouted and crossed his arms.

"Fine! Party poopers!" Mike said childishly. 

"Speaking of fruit salad…" Leonardo said, without completing the sentence. The four male turtles watched as Dr Yesmal entered the outside room. A plate of fruit was balanced in-between his hands. He walked over to the sliding tray contained within one of the walls of the glass prison. The doctor dumped the fresh food in and pushed the tray inwards so the turtles could feed. He then stepped back and watched as the reptiles began to stir. 

Raphael glared back at him and raised his mandatory rude one-finger salute. This was by far the highlight of Raph's day; watching the doctor's reaction. Dr Yesmal frowned and muttered something that the turtles couldn't hear. Raph, pleased with his reaction, gave a wicked smirk.

All the turtles hated the scientists, Raphael in particular. He loathed how they watched; how they wrote comments in their little clipboards. They did nothing but stare, and that's why they were so irritating. The humans even watched as he went to the toilet, unlike his family, who maintained the courtesy to turn around and close their eyes. It only seemed natural to Raph to pay the respect back. And this was the most fun way of doing it. Either that or mooning them with his bare butt against the glass.

Dr Yesmal sighed angrily and headed over towards Venus' cell to bestow her portion of food. After jotting down a few notes, he left the room, allowing the turtles to once again be alone. The male turtles each grabbed a piece of fruit to begin eating. 

Fruit was given to the turtles most of the time. Sometimes they were given a bit of mincemeat while other times they were given fresh vegetables. At first, Mike complained about this as he was so used to pizza, but he soon learned to put up with it and be grateful that they were fed their fill. 

Chewing his apple, Leo looked over to Venus' cell to check on her, and to see if she was coping okay. The female turtle was sitting silently in her lonely cell, slowly eating a piece of watermelon. Most of Venus' time was spent on meditating; trying to at least give her soul some freedom. None of the boys could even imagine what it must be like for her; to be completely alone in silence. She could see them, but that was all. 

Leo and Venus had tried to communicate through mental telepathy, but Venus couldn't take him to the Dream realm with her, as she didn't have any way to access his chi energy. The glass walls prevented that. Leo knew that Venus had the ability to read minds without the host knowing. But when she did it, she usually needed to be in contact with the particular person or holding an item the individual treasured. She had neither of those, but Leo still wondered if she could pull it off. Deep inside, Leo wished that the glass prison protected him from Venus' mind reading powers, as he didn't want her to learn of his thoughts of doom. 

For now, the turtles communicated through the use of mouthing words and body language. It helped a bit, but it still wasn't anything like the ability to talk. 

"You like her, don't you?" Mike said softly after noticing Leo's gaze.

"Of course I do. I like everyone in my family," Leonardo answered modestly.

"No, I mean, you like her in a different way. You know, a boy and girl thing," Mike pushed on. Leo responded with a quiet sigh. 

"I like her," Donatello murmured softly as though he wasn't sure whether he should say it or not. All three brothers looked at him in shock. A big grin formed on Mike's face.

"But you two are always arguing!" Mike said trying not to laugh. Donatello shrugged shyly.

"Yeah but… I still liked her. I mean, once you get past all the scientifically explainable magic tricks, she's quite a smart girl," Don admitted while blushing and twiddling his thumbs. 

"I used to like her," Raph said, kindly allowing the attention to get off the nervous turtle. Mike couldn't hold his laughter back anymore. Raphael simply growled at him. 

"Is that why you're so protective of her Raph?" Leo smirked. 

"Watch your mouth Leo!" Raph warned, cheeks going red.

"Ok, ok," Mike said trying to calm down. "I have to admit that I like her as well."

"Gees. That's a news flash," Raph said sarcastically. 

"I guess we all liked her… It's funny how you don't realise how important things are to you until they're gone…" Leo sighed, looking back over towards Venus.

"You liked her the most though," Mike said while grinning widely. Leo didn't deny it. He looked at Mike and blushed profusely causing his brothers to snigger.

*****

"Do ya have to do that?" Raphael said irritably. Leo sighed and stopped performing his kata in order to glare at Raph. 

"You know we have to be prepared if that door ever opens," Leo said calmly.

"So that's what we're going to do are we? We are gonna sit on our ass all day and wait for the fucking door to open!" Raphael argued.

"Raph! It's not like we have a choice. There's no other way out! But what we can do is keep in shape in order to better our odds against whatever is out there," Leonardo explained a bit more forcefully than he intended.

"Hello! Earth to Leo! It's been a week and they still haven't opened the door! Who says that they'll ever open it!?" Raph yelled, glaring Leo in the eye.

"Donatello says they have to," Leo argued.

"Ooh! Donatello said that did he? If Donatello told you to eat shit would you do that too?" Raphael said sarcastically. Donatello cringed at the sound of his name. Michelangelo put an arm around him for comfort. It looked like Raphael had finally snapped and instead of targeting the glass, he found enjoyment on picking on Leo. 

"Don't talk about Donny like that!" Leo snapped back. Raphael paused angrily for a bit before continuing.

"I can't believe we're just going to wait! Surely this glass will smash!" Raphael shouted. He furiously punched and kicked the wall. 

"It won't break Raph. You've been trying for a whole week," Leo said firmly.

"That's because I'm the only one trying! And it's beginning to make me wonder what our Fearless Leader is doing while I work my butt off!" Raphael growled. "I think it's time we get ourselves a new leader!"

"Oh! Do you now?" Leo said, voice strict with sight annoyance.

"Yeah! I do!" Raphael yelled in his face. From the corner of his eye he saw Venus staring at them with worry. "What the fuck are you staring at!?" Raphael yelled at her, forgetting that she can't hear him.

"Don't bring her into this!" Leo yelled back, quickly getting angry.

"Why not Leo? She's the one who got us into this bloody mess!"

"How can you say that!?" Leo asked, disgusted by Raph's accusations.

"She was the last one to be shot down. It was her responsibility to take on Bonehead!" Raphael argued, pointing his finger at Venus. The female turtle shrunk back in her cell, knowing full well that they were arguing about her.

"Wrong Raph! It was all of our responsibility! We've been through this. We knew that Bonesteel was good," Leo continued to argue.

"Well if she's such a powerful Shinobi, then why doesn't she do something right for a change and get us outta here!" Raphael yelled in Leo's face and gave him a small shove.

"What do you expect her to do Raph!? Teleport!?" Leo said sarcastically, lightly shoving Raph back.

"She has a stupid powder thing that can open locks! Why the hell doesn't she just do that!?" 

"Exactly as you said Raphael! It's a powder! She can't just produce it out of thin air!" Leonardo said, angrily pronouncing Raph's full name.

"Well, what a great Shinobi she is! Fucking useless if you ask me!!" Raphael yelled once again, bringing Leo over the edge.

Raphael anticipated Leonardo's oncoming punch and dodged it expertly. Raph retaliated with a punch of his own, only to be blocked by Leo. Michelangelo and Donatello looked onwards, trying to avoid the two colliding turtles who were both trying to bash each other into the glass wall. 

It was at the moment when the female doctor, Dr Aquel, entered the room. She saw the fight going on in the male cell. Donatello noticed her presence and called out to Leo and Raph to stop, but they ignored his request and continued on. The turtles knew that Leo and Raph were only sparring and that no real damage would be done, but the doctor didn't know this and thought that the two were trying to kill each other.

She ran from the room and swiftly made her way to Dr Welner's office. "The Alpha and Beta males are fighting!" She called out, causing Dr Welner to leave his room immediately. They both ran back to the lab and saw that the two turtles were still in physical conflict. Welner reached over to the control panel and pushed a button hard and fast. 

A white gas entered the boy's glass prison through the air vent above the steel door. It didn't take long for the turtles to realise this, and thus doing so, stopped their bickering. All four turtles coughed and spluttered as the gas slowly entered their lungs. "It's sleeping… gas… Cover your mouths!" Donatello managed to choke out. A few seconds later, four sleeping reptiles were defenselessly on the floor. Venus looked on with panic from the safety of her cell, wondering what had happened to the boys.

*****

Donatello opened his eyes, only to find that his vision was blurred. After waiting a few minutes for the effects of the gas to wear off, he began to look around as to what had happened. He noticed the change almost immediately. Raphael wasn't there with them.

He found his angry brother in the glass prison directly opposite theirs. Raphael was in solitary confinement, having a whole glass cell to himself. Leonardo and Michelangelo were still in the same prison as Donatello. Don watched with a saddened heart as he observed the angry glares Leo and Raph were exchanging through the glass. 


	3. Migration

Disclaimer: Done this already. I don't earn any turtles, but apparently if I clean up my room, my dad will allow me to have one! I do own the three scientist dudes and the one hundred members of the public ;)

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews. I really appreciate them. And don't worry, I have this story all planned out, and coincidentally I was going to have Raph marking his territory (to put it nicely) and doing other things, which will be seen in this chapter. As for the tranquils, yeah I know they are fast, but my excuse is that it's Bonesteel and he probably knows the exact dosage by now because he's a psycho. 

As for chi proof glass, I wanted to achieve the concept of a communication barrier, and because Venus doesn't actually have any physical contact with anyone it only seemed natural that she can't tap into anybody's life force but her own. Also it'll be too weird. Honestly, if you were a guy, would you really want a chick reading your mind? With the scientists, they each will have their own ways of observation, which will be revealed later on. Anyway, on with the fic!

Chapter 3: Migration.

Leonardo still held a grudge on Raphael for the first day following the separation. But after having two cold and quiet nights without his energetic brother, Leo quickly began to regret the heated conversation they shared and wanted more than anything to speak and apologise to Raph. When the third day passed, there was still no sign that Raphael was going to be moving back in. The new room arrangements were permanent. 

It had now been one whole week without speaking to Raphael, causing the atmosphere in Leo's cell to change dramatically. Things had been much quieter. The only sound in the prison was Mike's occasional incessant babbling which mainly revolved around the topics of pizza, video games, television and comic book heroes. Donatello still remained rather silent and withdrawn, though he did seem more relaxed without Raphael being stuck with him. 

Leonardo had also become rather quiet, and had stopped practicing his martial arts for a while, because he feared that the scientists would isolate him too. This caused Leo to sit and think; something that he didn't have the time for back at the lair due to his numerous duties as leader. It didn't take him too long before his thoughts would drift to Venus. He knew he kind of liked her before this whole incident, but it was only after they were captured when he realised how much he actually did. The conversation that Mike had held earlier only pointed out the fact that he did love her even more. 

Leo stared over towards Venus. She was practicing her Tai Chi again; trying to perfect her control of her inner energy through a series of movements. Venus had lived in total silence for two weeks, making the boys question her mental health. She had been coping rather well, though she had been caught talking to herself, which Donatello said was the first sign of insanity. Leo hated seeing Venus like this. He desperately wanted to talk to her, especially now with his new feelings he had. 

Fast paced movements in Raphael's cell caught Leo's eye. The red-wearing turtle was angrily pacing around, arguing with himself. Unlike Venus, Raphael didn't take solitary confinement well. It was true that Raph enjoyed time alone, but deep down inside Raph needed his family for comfort. In a way, Raph never really left as they could still see him. But it was the conversational barrier that changed things, and it was that what aggravated Raphael the most. He needed Mike. He wanted the family atmosphere that he grew up in, no matter how much he despised it at times. 

Being separated only made Raphael angrier than he already was. He was bored, and therefore became destructive. Throughout the past lonely week, Raphael had smashed the toilet twice, causing the others to question his behaviour. He used a sharp piece of porcelain from the destroyed toilet bowl to repeatedly scratch the glass, trying to create a weak point. Donatello had commented that this was a rather clever tactic on Raphael's part, although it did create complications as Raph's cell began to flood. 

To solve the problem, the scientists carefully gassed Raph's prison and moved him to another one while they repaired the toilet. Raphael smashed the porcelain bowl the second time in his new cell, forcing the humans to anesthetise him for two days. He was then moved back into his first cell situated directly opposite Leo, Mike and Don's. From then on Raphael realised that his escape plan was hopeless, as he would be moved every time he attempted it. So for the rest of the week he resorted to more vulgar things for entertainment, such as pissing his name on the steel wall. Raphael had lost his mind.

What was interesting though was what was behind the steel doors. When Raphael was moved because of his destruction, the solitary entrance had to be opened, allowing the others to see what was out there. They were surprised to see grass of all things. This lead to the hypothesis that the doors lead directly outside and to their freedom. 

Donatello shivered in his favourite corner as the temperature dropped. The lights would be turned out soon. Donatello wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing his shoulder area for warmth. He felt a lump in his arm, causing Don to curiously inspect it. The small protuberance was a rectangular shape, as though something had been imbedded below his right shoulder. Donatello looked over to his cell mates and was alarmed to see that they also had something in their upper arm. 

"Leo? Something's been injected into our right arm," Donatello reported, pointing to his small rectangular lump. Leonardo's eyes immediately left Raph's cell and moved to inspect his own appendage. The turtle lightly touched his own bump with a finger.

"What is it?" Leo asked calmly while continuing to inspect it.

"Probably a microchip. A tracking device no doubt," Don suggested.

"Why? It's not as though we're going anywhere," Mike commented, joining in the conversation.

"But if we're given the opportunity we will. We're probably worth millions, so naturally the scientists don't want us to escape and disappear into the world," Leo explained, causing Don to nod in agreement. "Listen, if we do happen to get out of here, we need a plan on where we're going to go," Leo said seriously.

"Well, first of all we'll need to remove these tracking devices, otherwise we'll just be caught again. I have a piece of equipment in my lab back at the lair that can do the job," Donatello said. Leonardo shook his head.

"We can't go back there. Well, if we do, then we can't live there anymore. The scientists would just follow the tracking devices back to your lab. Besides, some of the Foot know of our address and our lair could have been discovered by now. I don't think it's safe to go back home…. Wait a second. Are you sure that the scientists can't hear our conversation, Donny?" Leo asked.

"If they could listen to what we're saying, then they would have given me pizza by now!" Mike said, answering Donatello's question for him.

"He's got a point," Don commented simply.

"Okay then," Leo said in acknowledgment before thinking quietly to himself. "I think we'll have to leave New York City. Bonesteel will be back on our tail if we escape, and it'll only be a matter of time for him to catch us again if we stay in the area," Leonardo analysed. 

"That's if we're still in New York," Donatello commented dryly.

"What about April's farmhouse? We could go and live up there," Mike suggested hopefully.

"Good idea, but I don't know who owns the property now Mike. It could belong to the government, or some other people might have bought it. I don't know. But we can't go there. I think we have to leave the country as Los Angeles, Chicago and other major cities will be checked after New York is searched thoroughly," Leo said.

"Canada?" Mike suggested.

"Too cold. Our reflexes will be slowed down tremendously. It's bad enough living through the winter in New York!" Donatello commented.

"How about Mexico? That's warmer," Mike suggested again.

"That's a possibility. It's just going to be a bit hard if we ever wanted to get back into the United States," Leo said thoughtfully.

"Okay, so we're talking about overseas travel then. How about Japan? Splinter's told us enough about the country and customs for us to get by. We can also speak some of the language. Then there's China. Venus could take us to where she used to live," Donatello suggested.

"Too obvious. Bonesteel's heard Splinter's and Venus' accents and will no doubt hunt us down over there too," Leo said, rejecting Don's suggestion.

"Do you seriously think that Bonesteel will fly overseas to hunt us?" Mike questioned. Leonardo simply looked at him.

"Mike… It's Bonesteel," Leo said as his answer.

"…Yeah, you have a point," Mike sulked, before thinking up of another location. "What about the Amazon? No one would expect us to go there!"

Leonardo and Donatello rolled their eyes. "Mike, how do you propose we get there!?"

"What about Britain?" Mike suggested once again.

"Only problem with that is that we'll be landing at Heathrow. It's a very busy airport," Leo said sadly.

"France? Germany?" Donatello suggested.

"Language barrier," Leo answered simply. "We need a place that has a warm climate, that is easy to travel to, fairly civilised but not too popular that we're going to be seen, and a country that preferably speaks a language that we know," Leonardo summarised, trying to think of somewhere that fitted his description.

"What about Sydney, Australia?" Mike said hopefully. The other two turtles thought about this.

"That could work. It has a reasonably warm climate and it's an English speaking country. Australia, in land mass, is nearly the same size as the United States but it only has twenty million people. We could easily hide there. And it has all the luxuries of home. The only downside is that we'll have to stop over at LA airport first. But at least we're not expected to go over to Australia," Donatello said, supporting Mike's suggestion but also thinking of the pros and cons. Leonardo thought about this.

"Then it's down to either London or Sydney," Leo said, limiting the options.

"London's quicker to get to and Heathrow is less crowded than Los Angeles airport," Donatello said.

"But Sydney's less crowded than London, and it's a less obvious destination," Mike whined.

"What's it going to be?" Donatello questioned, looking at Leo for his final verdict. Leonardo crossed his arms and thought about the two options.

"Whatever leaves the airport first. If there's a plane that goes to LA before London, then we're going to Australia, and the same the other way around," Leo concluded.

"How are we going to tell Raph and Venus about this?" Mike asked.

"We'll rescue them and take them with us," Leo said with determination. Dr Yesmal entered the outside room. After having a quick look around, he turned out the lights, leaving the turtles in pitch blackness.


	4. The Enclosure

Chapter 4: The Enclosure

__

The next day…

"I spy with my little eye…"

"Something beginning with 'G'?" Donatello interrupted Mike.

"And the answer is 'glass'?" Leonardo followed up.

"How did you know?" Mike said with mock astonishment. Leo grinned to himself while Don simply rolled his eyes. 

Dr Welner entered the room. After inspecting the cells and their occupants, he reached over and pressed a button on the control panel. A low rumbling sound alerted the boys. They turned around and were astonished to find that the steel door was opened. Venus and Raphael looked on with curiosity and apprehension as they watched the other three move hesitatingly towards the open door. Venus' and Raph's cells were still locked.

Cautiously, with Leonardo leading the way, the three turtles walked through the door and onto the fresh grass outside. The steel door snapped shut behind them, causing the turtles to turn around in panic. 

Millions of flashes and blinding lights filled their vision. They watched in horror as news reporters, cameramen, radio presenters, scientists and members of the public stared down at them from above, babbling like crazy. The three reptiles clung together, frozen in their spots. They were petrified. Mike grabbed on to Leo's arm, wanting to just disappear from the hundreds of eyes that were looking at them, gawking. After two weeks of nearly total silence, this came as a shock to the system. Never in their whole life had they had so many people observing them. After years of hiding from society, this exposure felt terrifying.

It took minutes for the initial shock to wear off. Adrenaline pumping, Leo observed his surroundings. They were standing in a grassy area complete with two trees and a pond. A tall green painted cement wall, or rather a viewing platform, enclosed the territory. Along with that, there was also a glass window protected by an electric fence so visitors could watch the turtles from ground level. The three turtles stared uncomfortably at the hundreds of people squished up against the glass, trying to get a good view of them. Leo looked around from where they had come out of. Three steel walls jutted out into their enclosure. There were five doors leading into the enclosure, behind them were no doubt the glass prisons they had become accustomed to. There was only one other door, which was obviously what the staff used to enter the enclosure.

"They must have dragged us through the enclosure in order to place us into our cells," Donatello said quietly, almost as though he had read Leo's mind. A theory fluttered into the blue bandanna-wearing turtle's mind. 

Leonardo headed over to what he calculated should be Raphael's cell door. He gave it knock and waited for an answer. Leo was delighted to receive a knock back. "Raph?" Leo said in hopes that he might hear him.

"Leo?" Raph responded with a surprised voice. Mike and Don couldn't help but smile. 

"Raph… I'm sorry about what happened," Leo said, tears building up in his eyes.

"Aw Leo, don't worry 'bout it. What's out there?" Raphael asked curiously.

"We're in a zoo Raph," Leo said, feeling disgusted and degraded. He tried to ignore the constant stare and photograph-taking from the audience. The humans were talking about them so much that they wouldn't be able to hear what he was saying to Raphael. 

"Holy shit," Leo heard him mutter. "How many people are there?"

"Hundreds," Leo answered simply. Raphael was silent for a while.

"Is there any way to escape?" Raphael asked, sounding hopeful.

"Not really. There's another door, but it looks too thick and heavy to force open. And the perimeter wall is too high to climb. It's going to be impossible to escape with all these humans around," Leo reported. Raph was silent once again.

"Where's Mike and Don?" Raph asked.

"We're right here Raph," Mike said happily, but also worried at the same time. He too seemed to have tears of joy and anguish build up in his eyes. It was wonderful that they could speak to each other again, but that still didn't make up for being with him in person. Since Mike was telling jokes to Raph, and Don was going to fill him in on the escape plan so far, Leo decided to pay a visit to the final member of their clan.

He stood in front of her cell door, pondering on what he was going to say. They hadn't spoken in two weeks, but to Leo it seemed much longer. "Mei Pieh Chi?" He asked timidly.

"Leo?" Venus answered, even though she knew that Leonardo was the only one who addressed her by her real name.

"Yeah, it's me. How are you going?" Leo asked, feeling concerned.

"I'm fine, I think. I'm just so happy to finally speak to someone," Venus said, sounding relieved. "How are you guys going?"

"Mike's been a bit bummed out since Raph left, and Don's been rather quiet," Leo anaylsed, looking over at Michelangelo and Donatello who were still talking to Raphael.

"And you?" She inquired.

"I've had better days," Leo remarked rather bleakly.

"Where is Michelangelo and Donatello?" She asked.

"They're talking to Raph at the moment," Leo reported.

"Are they? I just thought that Raph was talking to the wall again," Venus said innocently. Leonardo couldn't help but laugh at her comment. "What's it like out there?"

"The landscape's rather nice, it's just that… I just feel so violated. Everyone's looking at us. I… I've never felt so scared in my life," Leo admitted quite openly. He didn't really like confessing his fears to his family, but in some way Venus was different, and he felt he could say anything to her. She took a bit of time before she answered.

"We're all scared Leo," Venus said, her voice hinting on her fear. The two turtles stepped closer to the door and placed a hand on the metallic surface, as though they could comfort each other through the cold, hard steel. 

"I wish you were here," Leo said, voice low. He could almost hear Venus blush.

"I do to," she said simply. 

He sighed partly out of frustration from the whole event, and partly from the tingly feeling he was receiving from his heart. Leo sat down on the grass, feeling rather exhausted from the constant looks from the audience. Seeking reassurance and comfort, he began to tell Venus of their thoughts of overseas traveling.

It was late afternoon when the door to their cell opened. By then the crowds had disappeared and gone home. The three turtles refused to go back in; thinking that they could find a way to escape now that the people had left. But when one of the doctors threatened them from the viewing platform with a tranquiliser dart gun, the mutants retreated to the cell where some fresh fruit was waiting. The steel doors closed behind them, trapping the three in their night enclosure.

*****

Raphael stared with discontent at the opened steel door. He knew what was out there. Raphael gave a worried look to the others before stepping through the opening and into the zoo exhibit. The steel doors closed behind him. The chatter from the audience started. Camera's flickered, overseas news reporters talked, editor's scribbled in their notebooks, teenagers gawked and babies cried. All eyes were on him and him only. 

He felt defenseless, violated and greatly exposed. Raph desperately wanted to crawl away and hide; get away from the prying eyes of the public, but there was no refuge. He hated the attention. He loathed them so much that he wanted to puke.

"What are you staring at huh!?" Raphael yelled at the crowd. The people grew silent for a second, before the chatter grew even louder. How he despised them; treating him like an animal. Raphael wanted them to stop; to go away and leave him alone.

"Go away!" He screamed, but it only caused the people to talk even louder.

"Fuck off!" He screamed again, desperately trying to drive them away but to no effect. "Fuck off!" He repeated again, tears of defeat swelling up in his eyes. They wouldn't leave him alone. All their eyes were glued to him at all angles. He couldn't take the attention. Raph wanted his family there with him. He didn't want to face this everyday alone. 

Raphael scampered over to the nearest corner and timidly sat trying to squeeze in as much as he could to the wall. He let out a sob of despair, anger, defeat and loneliness, releasing all of the built up anguish he had gathered over the whole ordeal. Raph buried his crying eyes into his knees, trying to block out all of the judgmental stares, and stayed there for the rest of the day.

*****

The boys went into the enclosure on alternate days, but Venus was never let out of her glass sleeping quarters. No one knew why she wasn't allowed to go into the public enclosure. Even though Venus was told from Leo and Raph that it was a scary ordeal, she still wanted to go out to feel the grass and the fresh air. She started to become slightly distressed as she began to think that she was going to be stuck in her glass prison forever, never being able to see the sky again. But there was someone to speak to her every day, to try and give her some comfort, though Raphael didn't talk to her that often.

*****

A low rumbling sound woke Venus up. Amazed, she cautiously walked through the open door and out into the grassy habitat. Not surprisingly the door to her cell closed behind her. 

"Hi," a familiar voice said. She whipped her head around and spotted Raphael.

"Hey," she responded simply. Even though Venus felt uncomfortable around Raph, she still gave him welcoming hug, relieved to have some company. Raphael too seemed happy to have someone to talk to, even though he never really got on well with her.

For most of the day Venus and Raphael held simple conversations; just having some company was enough for them. Though they did sit near Leo, Mike and Don's door to include them in their discussion. When it was time to return to their glass prisons, only Raphael's door was open. All too suddenly, things became awkward between them. They didn't need Donatello to tell them what the scientists were planning. 


	5. Courtship

A/N: Sorry about the lateness in updating. The last two weeks have been shocking as I had an assessment in every one of my subjects. I also had to update another one of my fics. I have two more assessments to do for next week, but after that I have school holidays (thank God!). Hopefully I'll be able to finish this fic before I return back to school in term 3. 

In other news, the new TMNT cartoon tapes have arrived in Australia. I know this because my brother works at the TV station. Yet the contract hasn't been finalised so it may or may not go to air. But because my bro works in the tape library, he managed to copy the first episode for me, so I could quite possibly be the first kid in Australia to watch it! I saw it last night, but I need to watch more episodes before I get an opinion of it. Anyway, you're probably dying to know the answer to the question 'will they or won't they?' So read on and enjoy!

Chapter 5: Courtship.

No words were passed when Raphael and Venus realised they were breeding partners. Instead they sat at the opposite ends of the glass cell, allowing the uncomfortable silence to take over. The other three gave the pair unreadable expressions, as though they were torn between the feelings of joy because Raph and Venus were no longer in solitary confinement, and the feelings of jealousy and worry. Dr Aquel and Dr Yesmal were both staring at the two, recording any observations into their jam-packed clipboards.

"I would have thought that the blue male would have suited her better," Aquel commented to her colleague as she stared at the unresponsive female. 

"Dr Welner thought that too, but he didn't want to separate him from the orange turtle and purple one," Yesmal informed her while he jotted something down.

"Why is that?" she inquired. The two scientists turned around to look at Leo, Mike and Don.

"Because without the blue one, the other two would be too timid and shy for display or for effective study. They're not independent unlike this red one here. Besides, it saves cleaning up another night enclosure. And it gives this big guy something meaningful to do with his time," Dr Yesmal explained, turning to look back at Raphael. The red-wearing turtle responded to the unwelcome attention with a rude gesture. "Spoke too soon," Yesmal muttered with a frown on his face.

Dr Aquel couldn't help but snigger at the turtle's offensive actions. She soon had to cover her mouth to control her laughter, earning a glare from her associate. "You know, he only does that to you," Dr Aquel commented while smiling. 

"Great! That's nice to know. A giant turtle has it in for me," Dr Yesmal said while rolling his eyes, then returned to glaring at Raphael. 

"You have to admit that it's pretty funny," Dr Aquel said. Dr Yesmal just gave her a look. "Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Want anything from the vending machine? My treat?" she offered.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind a Twix right now. I'll come with you. Doesn't look like we'll get any action out of these two tonight," Dr Yesmal responded before closing up his clipboard and following his coworker out of the room. The lights were turned out for the night, leaving the turtles in pitch-blackness.

The temperature dropped drastically. Venus settled down on the floor and tried to go to sleep. But she couldn't stop herself from shivering. Her teeth began to chatter and her breath started to become frosty. All of a sudden two strong arms wrapped around her. "Warmer?" a gruff male voice asked. Venus didn't respond, yet she didn't push him away either. The two turtles rested side by side, glad that they weren't in a cell of their own on this cold night.

*****

When the morning came, Raphael and Venus went back to sitting at the opposite ends of the cell. The awkward silence returned soon after. Becoming bored, Venus sat in a lotus position and began to meditate. Raph glanced at this and sneered. He hated meditation as it reminded him of Leonardo, and because he wasn't good at it himself. The silence continued between them for another few minutes.

Venus' eyes snapped open when she heard a repetitive vulgar sound. She glared at Raphael who was creating farting noises through the use of his left hand and right underarm. "Raphael!" Venus called out in annoyance. The male responded with a smirk.

"What? Mikey's doing it!" Raph said as a defense while pointing to his partner in crime in the cell opposite. Sure enough, Michelangelo was doing the same thing. Leonardo looked as though he was annoyed with his brother in orange, while Donatello looked liked he was about to burst out laughing. Venus sighed, starting to get frustrated. She knew that it wouldn't be easy living with Raphael.

"Besides, it's my cell, therefore it's my rules," Raphael continued.

"Why, did you write your name on it?" Venus retorted. Raphael pointed to the steel wall where he spelled out his name with his own urine earlier. Venus stood up in shock and backed away, covering her mouth a hand. "That's disgusting!" she exclaimed after she'd taken the sight in.

"Yeah well, git used to it," Raphael said using a slightly harsh tone, but had a sly smile on his face. Venus just responded with a look of exhaustion. Fed up with dealing with him, she sat back down and started to meditate once again. The silence returned.

The sound of trickling liquid interrupted her focus. She opened her eyes once again to find the source of the noise. Raphael was going to the toilet. He caught her staring and snarled. She immediately looked away and shielded her eyes. "Sorry," Venus said. There was no response. After hearing the toilet flush, Venus anxiously returned to her meditative state. It didn't take long for Raphael to interrupt her again.

"Why don't you do something useful instead of thinking of nothing?" Raphael said, looking towards her. Venus groaned inwardly in frustration. She was beginning to wonder if Raphael was being irritating just for the sake of being difficult. Venus suddenly knew what Leo was on about when he used to speak to her on the subject of the delinquent turtle. 

"What do you want me to do instead?" she asked, trying not to sound as irritated as she was.

"Like, I dunno. Maybe get us out of here?" Raphael inquired with that usual annoyed tone of his. 

"I can't Raph. Otherwise I would have already," she said, her accent coming out a little stronger as she spoke. 

"Useless," Venus heard him mutter. 

"I'm not useless Raphael," Venus debated, standing up for herself.

"You were useless that night when we were captured. You were a great help then!" Raphael said harshly with sarcasm. 

"You think I don't know that!?" Venus snapped back, shocking him while doing so. Tears slowly began to take shape in her eyes. Venus looked away from him and tried to compose herself. She didn't want the guys to see her cry. But the words Raphael said to her cut straight into her soul. It was the same belief that repeated through her mind all those days that she had spent alone. Venus had gradually convinced herself that it wasn't her fault, but when Raphael said it, it brought all the horrible thoughts back into her senses. The tears began to fall and this time she didn't care. 

__

'Good one Raph,' he thought to himself. Raphael looked at her cry and couldn't help but feel awkward. He was never good at calming others; he usually left that up to another member of his family. Instead, he crossed his arms and tried to ignore her. Raphael grunted, being annoyed with himself. He caught Leo's angry glare from the opposite cell. Raphael glared back, almost as if he was challenging him. 

Dr Welner entered the room. After a quick inspection of the turtles, he opened the steel door to Leo, Mike and Don's cell. Leonardo stomped outside and made his way over to Raphael's cell door. "Raph, how dare you talk that way to Venus!" Leo yelled through the steel. 

"You don't even know what we said!" Raph yelled back.

"I don't care what was said. I want you to apologise to her now! She is a lady and ought to have respect!" Leo responded with an angry tone.

"Shit! We're not even in the same room and you're still lecturing me!!" Raphael argued back.

"Apologise to her or I'll-"

"Or you'll what Leo? Break down the door?" Raphael said sarcastically. He could almost hear the steam rising from Leo's angry soul. Raphael smirked when he didn't hear a response for a while. 

"Are you okay Venus?" Leo asked with a softer tone, ignoring Raphael. Venus didn't answer. "What did you say to her Raph?" Leo yelled, all too easily becoming angry again.

"Oh fuck off Leo!" Raphael said, getting really annoyed. Infuriated, Leonardo began to give one of his infamous lectures. 

*****

Michelangelo and Donatello sat side by side at the pond. Don looked upwards to stretch his neck only to lock eyes with a camera-bearing tourist. He quickly broke the gaze and stared at his feet in the water, still not used to all of the unwanted and prying eyes of the public. Michelangelo stared at Leo who was still at Raph's door. He'd been lecturing for over an hour now; a new record because for the first time, Raphael couldn't escape Leo's words. 

"I feel sorry for Venus," Donatello muttered as he stared in the same direction of Mike.

"Why? Is it because Raph's acting like such a jerk, or that she also has to listen to Leo's speech?" Mike asked inquisitively. Donatello had been rather quiet since the whole ordeal began and Mike was more than happy to have a conversation with the withdrawn turtle, hoping to change him back to his normal self. Don gave Mikey a small smile.

"Both," he said, making eye contact with his friend. "Actually it's because I worry about her safety. I know that she's capable of defending herself, it's just that Raphael didn't cope too well with solitary confinement," Donatello continued, voicing his opinions.

"You don't seriously think that Raph would hurt her do you?" Mike asked, not wanting to believe Donatello.

"I don't know. When we spoke to him that first time, he didn't seem the same. You've seen what he did when he was isolated. I don't know how healthy he is in the mind, Mike. Who knows what he's going to do," Donatello analysed thoughtfully.

"Are you trying to say that Raph's insane in the membrane?" Mikey tried to ask seriously, but a big smile wrecked the facade. Don gave a shy smile back and nodded. "But Venus was isolated for longer Donny. She seems okay," Mike said, being optimistic.

"But she coped with it better… I really don't know. I just hope that they'll get along with each other, that's all," Donatello sighed, looking at the arguing Leonardo.

*****

An hour had passed since Leonardo had stopped lecturing. The agonising speech lasted for two hours, much to Raphael's disgust. The blue-wearing turtle stopped talking after finding for the first time in his life that he had nothing more to say on the matter, in which he then wandered over to Mike and Don to see what they were doing. Once again there was silence in the room. 

A sniffle was heard. Raphael looked over at Venus to find her crying again. "Shut up," Raph remarked, still agitated. Venus gave him a depressed look before crying further; allowing all of her built up stress to pour out. Raph cursed himself for being such an idiot. 

"I'm sorry Mei," Raphael said softly, regretting what he said. 

"It's still the truth though," she responded, her voice cracking in-between sobs. Raphael sighed. He hated being put in this position. The turtle didn't know what to do or say to make it better. He walked over and sat down beside her. 

"Listen. It was all of our responsibility to take on Bonehead, not just yours. If anything, I'm the useless one as I was the one who was knocked out first," Raphael explained; though the words did come out a little harsher than he had intended. 

Venus looked up at him and dried her eyes with one hand. "Do you mean it?" she asked timidly. Raphael nodded sincerely. A few moments passed. "Thank you," she whispered, accepting Raph's apology and reasoning. Relief swept through Raphael when he realised that he had actually helped.

"Don't mention it."

*****

__

Four days later…

Venus and Raphael stared at each other across the glass prison. There was a lot of tension in the room, yet it wasn't of the same kind compared to when they had first moved in. Over the past couple of days, Raphael and Venus had solved most of their problems, even though it was through intense arguing. But by the third day, the conflicts had ceased, leaving the two turtles more at peace with themselves and with each other. Yet awkwardness still filled the atmosphere. 

Venus had always been physically attracted to Raph. He was strong, stubborn and bold, placing him into the 'survival of the fittest' category. Raphael was always the most animalistic out of the boys, which caused Venus to be naturally attracted to him. Yet it was his attitude and personality that repelled her, which resulted with Venus making better friends with Leonardo and Michelangelo. 

Raphael on the other hand had no other option but to be attracted to her, as she was the only female of their species. But like Venus, Raphael didn't get along with her in conversation, forcing the two apart until now. There wasn't much else to talk about in the glass prison, leaving the two turtles with the awkward tension of the physical attraction that they had remained hidden.

"Let's just do it to get it over and done with already," Raphael said suddenly, breaking the awful silence.

"No. It's what the scientists want us to do," Venus responded, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"So?" Raphael asked. Venus didn't answer. Raph sighed and peered through the glass. "I s'pose you'd rather be placed with Leo," Raphael murmured, looking into the empty prison opposite. The other three were currently outside in the enclosure. He turned to look at Venus. She was blushing as much as a turtle could. She turned away to avoid eye contact.

Raphael sighed with frustration and punched the glass, causing Venus to look at him again. "You're the lucky one you know that?" he started.

"How am I lucky?" Venus asked, wondering where he was taking the conversation. Raphael sat back down and crossed his legs.

"You know, you're probably going to be placed in with one of the others, if we don't work out. You're lucky in that you'll be able to speak to them normally, not through a steel door. I'm probably never going to be placed in with one of the others, which means that you are going to be my only company," Raphael summarised with a sad tone. Venus had never seen him so sensitive before. He slowly walked over and sat down behind her, wrapping his arms around the female turtle as though she was going to get away.

"Please. If we don't, then you'll simply be moved into another cell with one of the others. Then again, I might be your only chance and you'll never be with another. But please, don't let me be alone again. We'll stay together if we do," Raphael begged and explained to her compassionately with a voice that was nearly inaudible. 

He softly began to kiss her neck as his hands uncertainly explored. His eyes locked on to Venus', awaiting her decision. To Venus, it felt so right, yet it also seemed wrong. She was confused with what to do, yet if she decided to reject him she couldn't, as her shield was already down because the temptation was too great. 

Raphael tilted his head upwards and kissed Venus passionately on the lips. "Raph. What if the scientists come?" Venus asked softly, staring into his eyes.

"Then we'll give them something to look at," Raphael said slyly as he positioned himself over her. 

Fortunately there were no interruptions from the scientists, and the other three turtles didn't expect a thing when they entered their glass prison at the end of the day. Raphael and Venus once again sat at the opposite ends of the cell; except instead of exchanging glares, they exchange smiles of pure happiness. 


	6. The Transfiguration

Disclaimer: I haven't cleaned up my room yet, so I still don't own any turtles. I do own a bunch of scientists, two college students and a bunch of snot-nosed kids. In other news, the new cartoon is airing now, but naturally it is showing at a time that I'm not available for. 

Note: This fic is rated for language, adult scenes and character death. I don't know how you are going to respond to this chapter. I think I've been quite civil to the turtles so far, but now it's crunch time. Even Macbeth, one of the best tragedies of all time has its lighthearted moments. So, um… enjoy!

Chapter 6: The Transfiguration.

It was early morning. The lights had just been recently flicked on and the temperature was slowly rising. Venus and Raphael sat side by side; sharing nothing but quick glances and smiles. Raphael had no idea how much his feelings towards Venus would change. He had originally slept with her for two simple reasons; one was so that he wouldn't be kept in solitary confinement again. The other reason was that he was simply bored and he had nothing better to do with his time. 

Yet after the incident, Raphael developed an indescribable sense of closeness towards her. He was protective of her, and started to admire the subtle things and behavioural quirks about the female. It wasn't love, but it was close.

Venus on the other hand grew more confused over time. She often thought about the event. Venus wondered if Raphael didn't arouse her when she was deciding, if her final answer would have been different. Yet Raphael did ask her when she was mentally weak, and they did commit the deed, and Venus couldn't do anything to change that. She was slightly guilty about what she had done, knowing that they didn't fully love each other at the time. She still didn't love him unconditionally, but she did care for him greatly and was pleased to find the angry turtle more at peace and happy within himself. Venus also started to admire Raph's personality, and figured that she could learn to love with time, as both of them were already starting to do. 

Dr Aquel came into the outside room and opened Venus and Raph's steel door. Venus stood up and started to head for the newly created exit when she noticed that Raphael wasn't moving an inch. "Are you coming?" Venus asked.

Raphael crossed his arms. "Nope," he said stubbornly. 

"Why not?" Venus asked curiously.

"Why should I? I don't wanna go out there and be gawked at. Besides, I haven't tried this tactic before," Raphael said with stubborn determination. Venus sat back down beside him, while the other three turtles looked on from their cell, wondering what the scientist was going to do to make Raphael move. 

Dr Aquel eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the two turtles' unusual behaviour. She sighed and resorted to more drastic measures as she pressed the sleeping gas button. White gas was pumped out of the air vent above Venus and Raph's cell door. The two turtles coughed and spluttered and ran out of the room in order to breathe properly. The steel door snapped shut behind them, leaving the two stranded outside in the public enclosure. 

"Damn!" Raph said with agitation after realising what had happened. Venus couldn't help but smile at him.

"Well, now you know what happens when you stay indoors," Venus told him lightly. Raph gave her a smirk back.

*****

Sarah looked into the mutant turtle exhibit along with her boyfriend, Peter. She stared at the two reptiles and jotted notes down into her clipboard. "So what exactly do you have to do for Biology?" Peter asked when Sarah raised her head to observe the turtles again.

"I have to think up an educated hypothesis to do with field research, and then see if it is correct or not," Sarah explained to her bored friend. 

"And what's this got to do with mutated turtles?" Peter asked curiously, while playing with a strand of her dark brown hair. Sarah pushed his hand down, signaling for him to stop it. She turned to look at him with her hazel eyes.

"Well my hypothesis is: If the recently discovered mutated turtles can move similarly to a human, then their behaviour and habits should also be similar," Sarah said. 

"Bit broad and a bit hard to prove isn't it?" Peter asked.

"It is, but it's nothing a little bit of observation won't solve. I haven't seen these guys before, so at least they'll be interesting for me to study," Sarah explained with optimism.

"You haven't seen them before? Girl, you must be the last one in New York to see these guys!" Peter said surprised. Sarah could only smile at him. She quickly went back to recording her observations through the glass and the electric fence. Sarah wondered if she should go up to the top viewing platform, but she figured that she'd be better off watching the turtles on the ground level. 

A large number of adolescent teenagers walked past, all chattering loudly, obviously on a school excursion. Their single teacher tried to calm them down, but failed when half the group ran up the stairs to view the two turtles from up above. The other half ran to the window and pushed Peter and Sarah out of the way. "Aren't we getting a little too old for visiting the zoo?" Peter asked Sarah over the noise of ignorant teenagers.

"If you want to return to campus and listen to that lecture on plant life, then you're welcome to do that," Sarah said, becoming slightly annoyed with her boyfriend's attitude. "How else am I going to be an animal behaviourist if I don't visit the local zoo?" She added rhetorically. Peter grunted in defeat and tried to watch the animals over the kids' heads. 

*****

Raphael hated these days and longed for the ones where the other three would go outside instead. He loathed the constant stares from the audience. A hand wrapped around his and in an instant his hatred resided as Venus stood close by him for comfort. Raphael gave her a smile as he gently squeezed her hand, not wanting to let her go.

A loud and annoying chatter filled the enclosure, snapping Raphael out of his daydream state. A large number of teenagers glared down at them from above. Raph turned his head and spotted some more of them squished up against the glass-viewing window. Their chatter grew louder and some of their comments and individual conversations were heard. 

"Gross!"

"Aren't they ugly!?"

"Hey! Thomas! The red one looks like you!"

"I bet you they smell like the sewer!"

"Like a poo!"

"Good thing there's only five. There should be a law about not breeding any more of these ugly animals!"

"They aren't animals; they're freaks!"

"Mutants!"

"That female must have fun with four guys!"

"That's sick man!"

"I do not look like the red one!"

"They're not doing anything."

"This is boring!"

"Yeah, hurry up and mate or something!"

"Trust me, you don't want to see that. Have you ever seen tortoises mate on the discovery channel?"

"Yeah, but this one's got boobs!"

"Heh, bring out the other three and let's see some action!"

Venus crossed her arms over her chest and looked down over her body. Though the calls and outbursts were ignorant and originated from immature teenagers, the things they had said still hurt. She was ashamed of herself and looked as though she was about to cry. Raphael all too easily noticed this and emitted a low growl. He glared up at the pimply-faced kids.

"Shut up you little shits!" Raphael yelled at them. The teenagers fell silent.

"Holy crap! It talks!" one called out in shock.

"What a freak!" another accused.

Raphael growled angrily at the last comment, picked up a stone and threw it at them, barely missing one of the children. Raphael was about to do something else but Venus stopped him as she placed a hand on his chest. "Don't sink to their level Raphael. Just ignore them," she advised, though her voice still showed that she was upset.

All too suddenly Raphael relaxed, as though he was in a trance. He stepped forward and traveled over to the window that was guarded by the electric fence. The wire that carried the electric current was thin and fragile, but the turtle knew it packed a painful punch as he had tried touching it before when he was by himself. 

Raphael then turned and walked in a trance-like state to the two trees in the center of the enclosure. "Raph?" Venus asked, concerned about Raphael's sudden change in emotions. The male stared up at the tree, completely ignoring the remarks thrown at him from the crowd.

"Raph?" Venus asked again when he suddenly turned and bolted towards Don, Mike and Leo's door.

"Hey Don. Can wood conduct electricity?" Raphael asked hurriedly. 

"No. Why?" Donatello asked, sounding confused as to why Raphael was asking.

"'Cause I'm gonna get us outta here," Raph said simply. Raphael ran back to one of the trees and climbed up part of the trunk. He punched, kicked and twisted a moderately large branch off.

"Raph? What are you doing?" Venus asked again, still concerned. 

"I'm gonna get us outta here," Raphael repeated as though he was obsessed. He jumped back down with his wooden prize in hand. He viciously ripped the leaves off the branch and calmly headed towards the electric fence. Then, like an enraged beast, Raphael battered the flimsy electric wire to a pulp. He was acting as though his mind had snapped in two; one half being eerily calm and collected, while the other side was a furious as a rhino. The evil comments and stress that Raphael had built up inside himself had caused his mind to become somewhat insane, and the isolation he had endured beforehand didn't do him any help. Raphael was crazy, yet was a genius at the same time as the fence soon became worthless under the power of Raphael's improvised wooden bat. 

The once gawking teenagers were now screaming and as they watched Raphael slam his shell into the newly unguarded glass. To his utmost delight, a thick crack formed through its slick surface. The teenagers were called by their teacher and were escorted out of the area immediately. Sarah and Peter stood frozen as Raphael backed up in preparation. The turtle rammed his shell once again into the glass, and continued on through as the clear wall gave in. 

Raphael stood outside of the enclosure where the audience was seconds ago. He ignored the two college students and the tiny shards of glass that bit into his body. Instead he focused on his new objective; to rescue his family. Venus stood in the enclosure, frozen in disbelief as she stared at the Raphael sized hole to freedom. A look from Raph was all she needed to get moving again. She jumped through the broken glass window and joined Raphael outside.

Without a moment to spare, the two escaping turtles ran around the other side of their enclosure wall. Other members of the public screamed where they stood when they spotted the mutated reptiles on the loose. As they followed the wall, Venus and Raphael soon came to a wooden fence and a padlocked door labeled 'Staff only'. With a solid kick, the obstacle was removed and the turtles continued on with their plan.

They entered the building relatively easily and bolted down the white corridor, scaring Dr Aquel and Dr Yesmal as they passed who were standing beside the vending machine. A cruel grin appeared on Raph's face as he received a wicked thought. He ran back up to Dr Yesmal and punched him square in the jaw, causing him to scream in pain. He continued to run back on his original path, this time with a large grin on his face. Venus just gave him a look, then smiled and shook her head. 

Dr Welner exited his office and stepped into the corridor wondering what all the commotion was about. He jumped back into his room as Raphael and Venus swiftly passed and entered the room where the others were being held. Not knowing what to do, Dr Welner acted on impulse and pulled his revolver out from his desk draw.

Venus and Raphael stared at the glass prisons they once occupied. The other three held looks of astonishment, surprised to see them on the other side. After a quick wave, Raphael examined the control panel, yet he never got to press anything.

The shot rang through the room yet it was completely unheard by three of the occupants. Raphael looked down at his body and found blood dripping down his plastron. The bullet had gone straight through. He tried to lean his weight on the metallic control panel, but he quickly lost his balance and fell to the floor face up. 

Venus gasped at the sight she saw and looked up to see Leonardo silently screaming. The wound was small, but the bullet had gone straight through one of his main arteries, most likely his aorta, proven by the pumping of bright blood that oozed down his front and back. 

Dr Welner's mouth was agape when he realised what he had done. Dr Yesmal and Dr Aquel entered the room and saw the sorrowful sight, before hurriedly exiting again. 

Venus kneeled down beside him, tears filling her eyes. She placed her hand on his wound, but it did little help. The tears streamed down her face knowing that everything was futile. Raphael tried to say something but Venus placed a finger on his lips as a message to save his strength. He raised his arms with great effort and caressed her weeping face with his weak hand. 

"Don't leave me," Venus cried as she placed her hand on his. Raphael began to breathe heavily with some difficulty. He didn't have much time left. Venus leaned forward so her mouth was beside his ear. "Don't leave me," she whispered so that only he would hear. He responded with an involuntary buck with his body; the neural messages in his body slowly dying. His thick blood poured out onto the slick concrete. "Raphael, you're going to be a father," she whispered, her tears slowly streaming down her face and onto the cold, hard floor.

When she moved upright again, Raphael was gone. Yet gently planted on his face was the faintest of smiles, as though her final message went through to him and became his final thought. His expression was a look of peacefulness, as though he was content in his last moment of life.

Grief shuddered through Venus' body as the realisation finally hit. Sobs of despair filled her eyes as she cried in mourning, ignoring the commotion from the scientists behind her. The familiar sting of the tranquil hit the back of her neck. She caressed his face one last time before slipping into unconsciousness. 

A/N: If you are wondering about the title of this chapter, 'The Transfiguration' was the last artwork Raphael Sanzio produced. Also it symbolises the change in Raphael's mental and physical state, as well as the soon to be change in Venus' physical appearance and the change in the story as a whole.


	7. Scientific Study

Chapter 7: Scientific Study.

After the accidental death of Raphael, Dr Welner was fired and was not allowed to continue on with the research team, thus leaving Dr Yesmal in charge of the study. Raphael and Venus' little escapade made world news; the media telling the story of the irresponsibility of the scientists, and the mistake Dr Welner made in destroying one of the most rarest and priceless animals in the world. Although the turtles were abominations and freaks of nature, before the project started, the scientists were given the instructions that the animals were not be harmed, and that any conducive study was to be derived from observation and byproduct testing only. Raphael's violent yet somewhat accidental death allowed the media and the government to question the scientist's jobs and research. Even though the zoo was under scrutiny, admission entries soared, as everyone wanted to see where the action took place. 

However, the turtle's zoo exhibit was closed, as it obviously needed to be repaired and upgraded. But that didn't stop some people from visiting the zoo. Record breaking zoo attendance was predicted for when the turtles were to be shown to the public once again. In the mean time, the turtles were trapped in their nighttime enclosures; Venus being placed back in her original cell once again. This left the two remaining scientists to solve the problem of what to do with Raphael's body.

Disposing animal carcasses were always a problem for the zoo, especially when it came to the elephants. Yet Raphael was no ordinary animal, so it was no surprise to Dr Yesmal when he received a phone call concerning the matter. The scientist knew the caller fairly well, so he asked for him to come in to have a look at the specimen, which was currently on a sterilised metal table in the glass prison room. 

Dr Yesmal waited patiently for the investor in his new office; the one that used to be Dr Welner's. After an anxious half-hour, the scientist was delighted to hear a friendly knock on the door. He smiled at his welcomed visitor. "Hello Dr Quease. It's a pleasure to see you again," Dr Yesmal said as the two shook hands.

When the turtles were captured, Dr Quease was one of the first scientists to be asked whether or not he would like to lead the study on the mutated reptiles. Even though he was the only scientist in the world to specialise in mutations only, he declined the offer, saying that he studied through dissection rather than observation. But after hearing the news of Raphael's death, Dr Quease quickly came back into the picture.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Dr Quease said, reciprocating the gesture of friendliness. After a few minutes of small talk, Dr Yesmal took Dr Quease to examine Raphael's body. 

*****

Leonardo grimly and aimlessly looked around the outside room, only to lock eyes with his dead brother's. He snapped his head away from the eerie gaze, feeling sick and sorrowful at the same time. Leo stared towards Mikey, who was currently throwing up into the toilet. He observed the orange wearing turtle's swollen red eyes, acquired through the excessive amount of crying he endured last night. Don had also shed some tears, but Leo hadn't, trying his best to pull what was left of the group together. He had done the same with Splinter, Casey and April's death; being the strong one that was there to help the others in their time of mourning. 

Concerned, Donatello stood up and walked over to the sick Mikey. He gently pulled back his fellow turtle's orange bandanna tails so that they wouldn't get in the way of his convulsing action. After a few minutes, the toilet flushed and Mike gave a small whispered thanks to Don's small gesture. The turtle looked like a wreck. Leo opened his arms and gave Mike a much-needed hug. The once fun-loving turtle shivered inside, trying his best to control his devastated emotions. Leo was about to invite Don into the brotherly embrace, when a familiar face entered the outside room.

The other turtles were shocked and angry to see their old nemesis; Dr Quease, especially Donatello, who had once trusted the evil scientist. Dr Quease gave the three males a smug smile before giving Raphael a quick examination. All the turtles knew the grim and final fate of their dead brother. They continued to watch as more horror unfolded.

*****

Dr Yesmal looked on as Dr Quease made notes to himself on his portable tape recording device. There was a soft knock on the door. Dr Yesmal turned his head to watch Dr Aquel uncertainly walk in. "Sorry to interrupt," she opened. "But Simon Bonesteel is here to see you. I can arrange for him to come at another time if you'd like," Dr Aquel offered.

Dr Yesmal thought for a moment. "No. It's alright. Send him in," he instructed. The female scientist nodded and disappeared for a moment before returning back with Bonesteel. Dr Yesmal looked the hunter up and down before smiling. 

Bonesteel had changed a lot since the scientist had last seen him. His hair had been cut and his face had been neatly shaved. Instead of wearing tattered clothes, Bonesteel wore a pair of new cargo pants, expensive hiking boots and an army-like jacket and top, obviously still keeping in with his outdoor hunting theme. His newfound wealth not only showed in fashion, but also through his successful weapons dealership that he opened up a few weeks ago. Yet even though Bonesteel could now physically swim through his riches, he still kept his hobby; his new hunting target was a large talking ape by the name of Silver.

Though he still wanted his original prize; one of the turtle's shells to place as a trophy on his wall. "What brings you here Mr Bonesteel?" Dr Yesmal asked even though he already knew the answer. 

"I'd like to buy that dead animal off you. I can pay you for it," Bonesteel offered. Dr Quease shook his head.

"This is a rare example of a perfect mutation. It needs to be dissected for research," the white-haired scientist argued.

"I'm sorry Simon. But Dr Quease's study of the creature is a higher priority. The government has offered to fund his research. I no longer have control over the matter," Dr Yesmal said with sincerity. 

Yet Bonesteel was stubborn and decided to bargain with Quease. "All I want is the shell," he said with a devilish grin. 

"I can give you the shell after I've detached it from the body. I have no need for it after that," Dr Quease admitted. Bonesteel gave the scientist a sly smile.

"Then it's a deal. I'll buy the shell from you after you have cut this beast up," Bonesteel said while placing his hand out on front of him. Dr Quease smiled at the final offer and shook the hunter's hand. There was a soft bang heard from one of the glass prisons. The hunter stared as the three male turtles snarled at him. Bonesteel evilly smiled back, along with Dr Quease. _'Stupid animals,'_ the hunter thought to himself as he continued to smile at the turtles.

*****

Leo looked away from the humans outside; not wanting to think about what they had shook hands upon. His eyes wandered over to Venus' cell. She was lying on the floor; her back was facing everyone else. Leo didn't need to look at her face to tell that she was devastated. He deduced that through her unmoving body language. 

Leonardo couldn't take it anymore. He needed to unleash his hidden emotions. This time it wasn't like Splinter, who had lived a long and fulfilling life. It wasn't like April and Casey, who received a proper and respectful burial. This time it was Raphael; a person who he had shared many experiences with, and now he couldn't anymore. They had grown up together, fought beside each other, and had saved and looked out for one another as the years went by. It was the little things that Leo remembered. The smirk that Raphael gave after he had won an argument, the one that Leo both loved and loathed. The way that he would tirelessly flick the channels just to simply annoy him. There were the arguments: each one forgotten by the following day. 

And then there were the happy times, like the way Raph would smile before eating a pizza; the technique he used to hide his blushing after April had kissed him; the pride seen in his face after successfully twirling his sai for the first time; and the look of love and glee they had shared together after battling the Foot. 

When Leo finally realised that he was crying, it was already too late to hide it. Donatello timidly crawled over and gave him a hug for comfort. "I lost one, Master Splinter," Don heard Leo whisper to himself. He assumed that what he had said was referring to the final message their master had given them before he had passed away. Donatello remembered that Splinter's message to him was one of thanks, and that he should continue on with helping the others, especially when it came to electronics. He concluded that Splinter's last words to Leo, were to take care of both him and the rest of the family. Donatello continued to hold Leo as his tears slowly dripped onto his shoulder. 

"I failed. Just like I failed you, Master," Leo whispered to himself again. This time Donatello couldn't ignore what his leader had just said. Don looked Leo in the eye. 

"Leo. It isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself," Don said softly. The tears continued to fall from Leo's swollen eyes and down along his cheeks. 

"Yes it is," Leo whispered, saying it more to convince himself. Don shook his head in disdain. 

"Leo, you know that we couldn't have helped Splinter. We did everything in our power to help him. None of our medicines cured him from his disease. You know that. It's not your fault that Splinter died, just like it isn't your fault now," Don whispered softly. Mike crawled over to sit beside the other two, mainly because he felt comfort in others.

Leo sniffled, not bothering to hide his tears or emotions anymore in front of the others. Donatello had now taken his place as the strong one. "I miss him. That's all. I miss Raphael," Leo admitted while placing an arm around Mike's shoulders. Mikey responded by resting his exhausted head on Leo's shoulder. 

"We all do Leo. It's okay to cry. I wish he were here too. You're not alone Leo. We can get through this together," Don said softly, tears filling up in his eyes. He leaned in closer and the three turtles formed a brotherly group hug of comfort and mourning. 

"I hope so Don. I hope so."

*****

It was late afternoon. Raphael's body had been taken by Dr Quease, leaving the two remaining scientists to complete their everyday routine tasks. 

Dr Yesmal and Dr Aquel observed the turtle's in their glass prisons. Both of them frowned when they saw Venus. "She's not making any progress," Dr Aquel commented to her colleague. "She's not responsive at all," she added.

Dr Yesmal agreed. "When the enclosure opens to the public again, we should place her with the other three," he said. Dr Aquel gave him a look.

"But we separated her because Dr Welner said that the males would become aggressive," Dr Aquel defended.

"Yeah, but Dr Welner went on the assumption that their behaviour is similar to that of a normal turtle's. I mean, let's face it, these aren't ordinary animals. The female was found with the other males and apparently they had been living peacefully together, meaning that they are quite compatible. Besides, placing her with the other three might make her more responsive," Dr Yesmal explained.

"We've seen through observation that these creatures are quite sociable with each other, unlike normal turtle's where the males would fight for dominance. Also, they have managed to live for years in an unlikely environment. Dr Welner gave them more of a natural enclosure with trees and a pond, thinking of them as ordinary reptiles. But after observing them for some time, I have to disagree with his idea, and I think that they would be more comfortable and responsive with something a little more modern. We'll have to experiment first though," Dr Yesmal continued.

"You mean behavioural enrichment?" Dr Aquel inquired. Dr Yesmal agreed. 

"I'd like to introduce something new to their nighttime enclosure tomorrow morning. See how they respond with manmade objects," Dr Yesmal instructed. Dr Aquel nodded her head in agreement.

*****

__

The next morning…

Mike, Don and Leo sat side by side. Things had been considerably quieter since the unexpected death of Raphael. The incident was still raw in their minds, not fading away with ease. The room's lights had been on for an hour and the cell's temperature had stabilised.

Don and Leo frowned when they heard Mike's stomach growl for the fifteenth time, forcing them to wonder why their food was so late this morning. Finally Dr Yesmal entered with their plate of vegetables and fruit. The human pulled out the tray and placed the food in, before pushing the compartment back into the prison.

He then walked over to Venus' cell and did the same. Dr Yesmal stood there for a while to see if there was a change in the female, but there wasn't. She still wasn't eating, and when she did decide to feed, she ate very little. He sighed and exited the room.

The male turtles dug their hands hungrily into the tray and began to consume the fresh food. After a few minutes, Donatello noticed that the scientist had given them something else this morning. He stared in wonderment and puzzlement at the surprise object that had been placed in with their food.


	8. Behavioural Enrichment

Disclaimer: I don't own any turtles 'cause I need a reptile license to do so. I do own the scientists and Sarah.

Red turtle- Dr Welner was one of those people who felt safer to have a loaded gun around. The scientists knew that Raphael was a dangerous animal, and Dr Welner, as you thought, panicked and went on instinct. The whole incident only took a few minutes, where Dr Yesmal and Aquel were the ones to use the tranquils (that's why they left the room after Raph was shot; to get the tranquils). After that, Raph was left in the room until the scientists figured out what to do with him. Dr Quease then came along and took him away, so now Raph is in Dr Quease's lab, wherever that may be.

Anyway, in other news, I now have a website. It's not complete, but it does have a fanfic FAQ and a page dedicated to the next mutation characters, for people who haven't been introduced to them. Hope you enjoy. 

Chapter 8: Behavioural Enrichment.

Donatello continued to stare at the object, wondering why the scientists had given them one. Leo noticed Don's peculiar gaze towards the iron food tray. "What are you looking at?" he asked while finishing his apple. Donatello reached into the tray and pulled the object out, showing it to the others. Leo and Mikey looked at it intently. 

"It's a semi-permanent black marker," Donatello said as though the others didn't know what it was. The turtles stared at it like they hadn't seen one in years. Michelangelo tentatively reached out and took the felt-tip from Don's hand. He bent down, uncapped it, and scribbled neatly on the floor.

"It works," Mikey said with childlike charm. Leo nodded in affirmation while Donatello gave Mikey a 'duh' facial expression. 

"Why would they give us a pen?" Leo wondered out loud.

"Maybe they want to see how accepting we are of 'foreign' objects," Donatello suggested.

"Or maybe they want us to make them artworks, so they can sell them for heaps of money. Like they do with chimps and elephants," Mikey thought out loud. He stared at the marker still in his hand. Mikey wanted nothing more than to turn around and draw whatever his heart wanted. Not resisting the temptation, Mikey prepared himself to sketch on the steel door. Leo's strong hand enclosed itself around Mikey's, preventing his artistic ambition. 

"If we're going to use this, then make sure that none of our plans for escape or otherwise are displayed. Whatever we write the scientists will see. Is that understood?" Leo questioned with authority. The other two nodded in understanding. Leo released his grip, allowing Mikey to draw what he wanted.

*****

Donatello woke up to the sound of the marker squeaking on steel. He opened his eyes to find that the room's lights were already turned on. It wasn't a surprise to him as he could usually sleep through most things. He looked over towards Leonardo. The turtle in blue didn't get much sleep since Raph had passed away, but Don was glad that at least now he was catching up on some of the lost nights. The marker squeaked again as it was pulled over the metallic wall. 

Don turned his head towards the sound and found the whole steel door covered in messages. After a closer inspection, most of the sentences were typical phrases and mottoes that Raphael would say. Michelangelo had bags under his eyes, looking like he had stayed up all night to write the messages on the wall. It was as though Michelangelo was building a shrine towards his deceased brother. Donatello showed a look of concern as he knew it was unhealthy for Michelangelo to be expressing his emotions through this way. 

Donatello silently stood up and approached Mikey. He outstretched his hand and gently clasped Mikey's, forbidding him from writing. "Mikey you can't do this," Don said softly, looking into Mike's tired tear stained eyes. Michelangelo's eyes swelled up again.

"I have to keep going," Mikey whispered before gently pushing Donny away. The turtle approached the wall and was about to continue writing Raph's words and memories, only to have his psychologically unhealthy obsession intervened again. 

Donatello looked his brother sadly in the eyes. "You need to let go," Don whispered. A tear fell from Mikey's face as he stubbornly shook his head.

"I can't," he whispered feafully in response. "He needs to be remembered," he continued, looking Donny straight in the eye. Donatello sighed and gave Mike a hug.

"But he will be. He will live on within our hearts. You don't need to do this. Don't dwell on the past through writing. Raphael wouldn't have wanted that. He would want you to be strong," Don whispered into Mike's ear as his own tears began to fall. Michelangelo didn't answer for a while, but he eventually nodded his head slowly in agreement and dropped the addictive black marker to the floor.

Leonardo watched on from his sleeping position, glad that Donatello was there to help them both get through their dark ages of their lives. 

*****

__

Three days later…

Donatello looked around and observed his glass prison. Writing and drawings filled every inch of space with the ceiling being the only wall spared. Mike no longer wrote to unhealthily exude his emotions. Instead he dealt with it through understanding and allowed his family to help him. He was still in mourning, but at least he was like Leo and was getting enough sleep. The pen though was addictive, and all three of the turtles contributed to writing on the wall, mainly to escape the boredom that they had to deal with everyday. 

The scientists entered the outside room and gave their routine observation before examining the control panel. A familiar low rumbling sound echoed through the cell. To their surprise the steel door opened, causing the turtles to look outside with apprehension. When they had built up enough courage, they timidly walked through together, bravely facing the barrage of camera flashes and ignorant comments. 

Leonardo looked up at the crowd and realised that there was a lot more spectators than usual. His eyes continued to wander around until they landed on to the new electric fence. The wire was twice as thick and looked strong and sturdy. The viewing glass also looked different as though it was made of the same material as the glass in the cells. Apart from that, there was no or little change in their enclosure. 

Half an hour later, the rumbling sound was heard again. The three males curiously turned their heads in time to see Venus enter the enclosure. The turtles were shocked to see each other in the same room. It seemed that years had passed since they had last been together. They just stared at first, not knowing how to react. The cameras kept on clicking and flashing. 

All of a sudden, a great big smile spread across Mikey's once tearful face. He was the first to approach her by running up to give her a welcoming cuddle. The other two soon followed suit. Smiles were exchanged between everyone. The boys had been concerned about Venus' health, both mental and physical. Yet now that they were together, things seemed as though everything would be all right. Tears of both happiness and sadness were shared, glad to be a family once again even though they were, and would now always be, one member short. 

"We were given a pen," Mike said excitedly, showing Venus the black marker in his hand. Venus smiled in recognition.

"I know you were. I've seen what you've done with the walls," Venus answered with a smile, relieved that she no longer had to look on over at the others in solitude. After a few more minutes of excitable conversation, Venus' face turned serious. The other three noticed it quickly and reflected her facial expression. 

"I have to tell you something. It's quite important and it can't really wait," Venus opened with sincerity. She looked down at the ground while the boys waited intently. "I'm pregnant."

The boys were shocked. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the father of the child was. A pang of jealousy stabbed through Leo's heart, but it resided as fast as it had appeared, knowing full well that he couldn't blame Raphael for this. Not after what had happened to him. After a few moments, the boys nodded in admittance, slowly digesting the shocking news.

"How do you know?" Donatello asked softly.

"I can sense another presence within me. I have an unusual amount of chi energy inside my soul," Venus explained, continuing to look at the ground in shame. Although Donatello didn't usually believe any of Venus' Shinobi ways, he decided to give the female the benefit of the doubt and demonstrated by giving a nod in acceptance. 

"Don, what does this mean? What will the scientists do to Venus?" Leonardo asked with concern written all over his face.

"I don't know. They might want to separate her from us when the baby's born. Thankfully we still have time as it will take a while for them to discover that she's pregnant, thanks to our shell," Don said, thinking rapidly.

"How much time?" Leo dared to ask.

"A few months. If she's going to be laying eggs, then by that time they would be laid. If she gives birth like a human, then there would be a noticeable increase in the amount of food she eats, which will make the scientists suspect something. Her shell might also change shape, I don't know," Donatello summarised. 

"We need to get out of here before then," Leo said while looking at Venus. "Venus. I know that it's hard, but would you like to tell me how Raphael escaped in the first place?" Leo asked, his face softening when he spoke to her. She sighed; tears swelling up with the final memories and moments of Raphael's life. After taking a deep breath, she summed up what had happened on that fateful day.

"He um, snapped a branch off one of the trees and used it to knock out the electric fence. He then smashed through the glass and made his way around to the staff area where he found you," Venus said while trying to hold back the bad memories. It was not in great detail but was helpful nonetheless. 

Leo gave a small nod. "Do you know whereabouts we are in the zoo?" he asked softly, looking into her eyes. She gave him a thoughtful expression.

"I'm not sure. But I think I saw a sign pointing towards the alligators," Venus said, still thinking.

"We must be around the reptile house then," Michelangelo surmised. Over the years, the turtles had gone to the zoo at night as a family outing. They didn't come frequently then, but when their old enemies, the dragons, had arrived in New York and wanted rare animal parts, the turtles fought at the zoo on a somewhat regular basis, allowing them to know the area reasonably well. 

"That's good. It's near the entrance so we can escape quickly," Leo said simply with optimism. The turtles nodded with agreement. There was an awkward silence after, especially between Venus and Leonardo. Donatello took the hint and grabbed the oblivious Mike's arm to drag him away, giving Leo and Venus some privacy. The awkward silence continued on despite Don's action.

"It's great to have you back," Leo remarked simply but with honesty. 

"Same here," Venus replied with the same simplicity. The awkward silence returned. 

"I- If you allow me to, I'd like to help you raise Raphael's child. I- It's the least I owe him," Leonardo said, slightly nervous. Venus smiled shyly.

"I'd like that," Venus said softly, nearly whispering. 

From the other side of the enclosure, Donatello watched the two and smiled. Mike watched them also, but was annoyed with the large number of people that were around. Out of all of the turtles, Michelangelo was the one who had grown used to the zoo visitors the most. He didn't mind having the attention of hundreds of eyes and had once remarked to Don that it was like being on a reality TV show. At one stage he had even tried to entertain the audience, but Leonardo thought against it as it was drawing more people towards them, and also the spectators laughed more at his physical appearance than anything else. Things had changed now after Raphael's death. He wanted the people to leave them alone; they were a nuisance, an intrusion into their personal world. 

Michelangelo twirled the marker around his fingers, trying his best to ignore the watchful humans. Donatello noticed this, before staring at the black felt-tip in Mike's hand. He gently reached over and took the marker off him. Mike was about to protest when Donatello cleverly began to write something on the enclosure wall.

*****

Sarah tried to look at the turtles below, over the heads of other humans. She still held a fear of watching through the viewing window, so instead today she decided to observe their movements from up above on the platform. Although she knew beforehand that a record attendance in zoo visitors was anticipated, she still came because of her assignment, and because she wanted to see the males' reaction when the female was introduced. 

Sarah looked on intently as the female and the males stared at each other. The turtles then moved towards each other with big smiles on their faces. She stopped her train of thought. _'Smiles? Was that a form of showing emotion? Or was that just a behavioural way of greeting the opposite sex in the species?' _She thought to herself. Sarah ignored it for now and watched as the turtles split into two groups, leaving the blue male alone with the female. She wrote something down into her notebook, before observing the purple-wearing turtle that had acquired a black felt-tip marker. Sarah gasped when she saw the creature write the message, 'SOS. We aren't animals'.

*****

The message raised many questions amongst the media. The turtles had been caught speaking on tape many times, but when they interviewed the scientists, they simply said that the turtles were mimics who liked to copy familiars sounds, much like a parrot. Yet writing an eligible sentence showed both intelligence and education, putting the media into a news frenzy. Though the scientists denied most questions and told the media that the message was the work of vandals and animal rights lovers.

The turtles on the other hand, kept on writing sentences and phrases, not knowing how they expected the audience to react. Anything was worth a try. After trying debatable messages, Mike decided to try famous movie quotes, proving to the media that the turtles entertained themselves the same way humans did. Yet the press found it too hard to explain the reptile's incredible intelligence and resorted to simply using the scientist's story where the messages were the work of vandals, despite the many claims where people had said that they saw the turtles do it themselves. 

When the English language didn't seem to have much of an effect, Venus tried to communicate through Chinese. They soon gave up on sentences leaving Donatello to write binary codes, science rules and high level mathematic formulas as a way of showing intelligence.

*****

"We earn thousands of dollars a year and we still have to clean up the enclosure," Dr Yesmal commented. The two scientists scrubbed the daily black messages off, with the setting sun as their failing and only light source. Dr Aquel smiled.

"Well you wanted to know if the turtles knew how to use a human tool. If you ask me, I think that the behavioural enrichment was a success. Just look at their nighttime cell," Dr Aquel said. Dr Yesmal stopping scrubbing to massage the left side of his mouth. "Jaw still hurt?" Dr Aquel asked, knowing where the now deceased turtle had struck him. Dr Yesmal nodded, and opened a closed his mouth a few times to move about his sore mandible. After he felt he was alright, he continued on with the conversation.

"It's amazing what we've learnt about the turtles, I agree. But the media is becoming a problem," Dr Yesmal said.

"It's the purple male turtle that is the problem," Dr Aquel corrected. "He's the one that's writing most of the messages. We need to solve it soon unless we want the media on our backs all the time. The vandalism excuse will only work for so long," Dr Aquel analysed. "We should take away the marker."

"I agree. But the media won't go away." Dr Yesmal dipped his sponge into the bucket of solution and continued to wash the writing off the enclosure wall. He stopped when he saw one of the mathematic formulas. "I think I know the answer to our problem."


	9. Last One Standing

Chapter 9: Last One Standing.

"So what do you think?" Dr Yesmal asked. Dark bags encircled the scientist's eyes. He had spent most of the night making phone calls, hoping to speak to someone who would fulfill his plan. Finally, around one in the morning, he managed to get in contact with Joseph Fiffer, an acknowledged and respected mathematician who worked for the Government in Washington DC. Although it was of short notice and was at an indecent time, Dr Yesmal assured him that what he was going to show him was worth the plane flight to New York. 

It was now early morning; the dampness of the air still hadn't lifted as it continued to make his breath visible. In another hour, the zoo would be opened to the public for the duration of the day, so it was crucial for the mathematician to visit immediately. 

The two humans stared at the black writing on the enclosure's wall. "This formula…" Joseph started, tracing the writing with an inspired finger. He pulled out a notepad and scribbled down a few numbers before trying Donatello's formula. "This is extraordinary. It solves one of the many mathematical problems that have stumped scientists for years. A lot of people have come close but this… this is extraordinary," the mathematician repeated with astonishment. 

"I told you that the plane fight was worth it," Dr Yesmal commented coolly.

"…The turtles did this?"

Dr Yesmal nodded his head. "The purple one to be exact."

"But I thought that vandals were the ones responsible for writing the messages," Joseph commented with a confused expression planted firmly on his face.

"No, it was the turtle. We thought it was the work of vandals ourselves at first, until we caught the purple male in the act just yesterday," Dr Yesmal lied. He knew full well that it was Donatello's doing the whole time, and only told the mathematician otherwise to coincide with the false story the press was using. "So, do we have a deal?" the scientist inquired as Joseph continued to stare at the formula in awe.

"It's a deal. But I think I have to see this for myself, so I know that you're not pulling my leg," the mathematician said, not confirming anything.

*****

Sarah watched intently as the turtles relaxed in the enclosure. They were far more interesting than what she had at first thought, and was gathering tons of observations about them for her hypothesis. Just as she suspected he would, the purple male stood from his lazy position on the grass and made his way to the wall. Sarah was surprised that some of the writing was still left on the enclosure perimeter, as she knew that the caretakers usually wiped it off after-hours. Pen poised, Donatello started to write till his hearts content causing many visitors to gasp in astonishment.

Joseph Fiffer was one of them. Alongside the two scientists, he watched as Donatello wrote another high level formula. Joseph smiled at Dr Yesmal. "We have a deal," the mathematician said, holding out his hand, which the scientist shook generously. 

"It'll be done as soon as possible then," Dr Yesmal said before Joseph turned to go to lunch. Much to the scientist's disgust, a news crew and a reporter headed over to him, impatient for answers about the turtle's mysterious abilities.

"Hello. I'm Amy Simmons from Channel Six News," the reporter said, more to the camera than to Dr Yesmal. "We have just witnessed that the turtles that have been writing the messages, not the vandals as once thought," she said, then held out the microphone towards the scientist.

"Yes, we had originally thought it was the work of smart aleck teenagers, but after some close observations we have found that one of the turtles has been writing these intelligent messages," Dr Yesmal said with a false smile, wanting to get away from the press.

"Obviously this is a quite a smart creature. Knowing that the turtle can write, what new plans have been put into place?" the reporter questioned, shoving the microphone under his face again.

"The turtle in question, the purple male, will be studied more closely up in Washington DC by the Government. We have no further information, thank you," Dr Yesmal commented before stepping away from the camera and news reporter. He teamed up with Dr Aquel and strolled towards the staff building with her.

"Are you sure that this will work?" Dr Aquel asked.

"The press thinks that only one of the turtles is intelligent, and will follow him up to Washington DC, leaving us alone. It will work, hopefully. We have no other option," Dr Yesmal explained. "Unfortunately, with the news cameras around, we need to take the marker away before one of the other turtles uses it, otherwise the plan won't work," Dr Yesmal said with a concerned expression. The two scientists reached the wooden fence and opened the padlocked door. After a few more steps, they entered the staff building. "Get the tranquils," Dr Yesmal ordered.

"What? But the public-"

"I'll deal with them, Dr Aquel," Dr Yesmal assured her.

After a few minutes, the two scientists returned to the turtle enclosure's viewing platform. Zoo visitors frowned at the tranquilizer guns in their hands, but Dr Yesmal made an announcement that one of the turtles looked ill and needed to be treated immediately. The members of the public accepted this news and understood they had to be taken down now in the enclosure instead of later when the zoo was closed. The real reason though, was to take the marker away from the turtle's grasp before the news crew filmed one of the other turtles using the pen. Sarah, who had been observing the turtles for a while, knew that one of the reptiles wasn't sick and quickly suspected the two devious scientists. 

*****

The four turtles lay on the grassy floor of the enclosure, not having much else to do. After taking a few catnaps, Donatello opened his eyes and noticed a news crew filming them. A blonde reporter fixed up her hair behind the camera, while asking her colleagues whether or not she looked okay. A clever smile encompassed Donatello's face as he thought that now would be a good time to use the pen, knowing that the rest of America would see the deed. 

A stir of noise was heard from the audience when he completed his new mathematical formula. Proud with himself, Don turned in time to spot one of the scientists shaking hands with another human. Something didn't seem right. He watched as the male scientist was hounded by the press, before leaving with his female coworker. Donatello stood still, senses on high alert. 

He watched in horror as the two humans returned, this time with tranquilizer dart guns. Don and the others listened as the scientist lied through his teeth in order to use the tranquil out in public. Without a moment to lose, the two humans turned the sedative weapons towards them, trying to get a clear shot. Alarmed, the turtles huddled around Leonardo, seeking leadership.

"Spread out!" Leo barked. "Don't makes us a big target! We can dodge the shots easier alone!"

Obeying his command, the turtles spread out; prepared for anything. To their surprise, the two guns followed and locked onto Donatello. Panicking, Leo ran over to Don's side and acted like a shield. Deep down he knew it was futile; they couldn't dodge the tranquilizers forever. They would eventually fail, whether they liked it or not. 

Dr Aquel ran around the platform and tried to get a clear shot on the purple male. Mike and Venus copied Leo and tried their best to hide Donatello from the scientists. They managed to dodge two shots through using their ninja skill, yet Leo was knocked out when the scientists decided it was easier to just get him out of the way. 

With no leadership, the remaining three began to scamper around the enclosure, desperately trying to avoid the barrel of the dart gun. Though the scientists would have preferred to sedate Donatello first, they would eventually have to tranquilize them all so they would be able to remove the marker, and Donatello. Mike soon became their next target, but he was smart and submerged himself in the pond water. Venus was locked onto next.

She didn't run. Instead she stood her ground and began to chant an incantation. A blue and purple glow began to form in her hands as her chi energy began to build. The scientists looked at the female's power with curiosity through their scopes. The ball of energy propelled itself through the air and hit one of the dart guns dead on, causing the shooting mechanisms to jam temporarily. Don cheered while Mike bubbled with victory in the pond. But it was short lived as Dr Aquel's dart gun swiftly sedated Venus. 

With a quick reload, Don was shot down with the next dart. He staggered over to the wall and pulled out the projectile, trying to fight the blanket of unconsciousness. Mike cried out from his position in the pond, wanting to dash out and protect Don in his arms. Donatello slipped down to the ground, fast asleep, releasing the valued and troublesome marker from his weak grip. 

Dr Yesmal managed to get his dart gun working again and quickly aimed it at Mike. The last conscious turtle fearfully retreated back to the deepest part of the pond. Dr Yesmal called Dr Aquel off, knowing that if the turtle were to be sedated in the water, then there would be a high risk of him drowning. It was a waiting game, and Michelangelo knew it. 

He breathed heavily as he treaded the water, tears coming down his face. Mike shivered in fear, as he knew he couldn't hide in the pond forever. He stayed in the water for fifteen minutes, terrified of what would happen if he left. What scared him even more was that he didn't know what they were going to do once they were all unconscious. He gulped in some air, slowly but surely becoming more and more tired. 

Though the notes she was making were fantastic, Sarah couldn't help but feel sorry for the shivering turtle all alone in the pond. She stared at the reptile, soon ignoring her observations she had to make for biology. Sarah watched as the tears dribbled down his fearful face.

Growing impatient, Dr Yesmal signaled his coworker to go and wait outside the enclosure door. When she was ready, Dr Yesmal fired his weapon and tagged Mike on the right shoulder. Dr Aquel immediately entered the enclosure and managed with all of her strength to pull the lightheaded turtle to the edge of the pond, saving him from drowning.

After a minute or so, Dr Yesmal joined Dr Aquel in the enclosure. He pulled out his cell phone and placed a call out to the reptile handling staff, and to Joseph Fiffer so he could take his new specimen back to Washington DC with him. 

*****

Leonardo groaned groggily as a loud yelling stirred him from his dreamless sleep. After confirming his senses that he was back in the glass prison, he began to focus on what Mike was screaming about.

"DON! DONNY!" Mike yelled, tears streaming down his depressed face. Leo looked around from his position on the floor. Venus, Mike and him were still in the same cell, yet Donatello wasn't. He scanned his eyes around the room and was greatly saddened when he failed to find him in another prison. "DONNY!" Mike yelled again, hoping against hope that he would receive an answer.

Leonardo stood up and placed his hands on Mike's shoulders. "Mike, calm down," Leo started.

"Calm down! Donny's missing!! How can you tell me to calm down!" Mike blurted out, as another tear washed over his cheek.

"Mike… As long as he's still alive, there's hope."

"What are we going to do? Escape!? That's easy for you to say! Every time someone tries to escape, they get taken away! Who's next Leo?!? Who's next?! Answer me that!" Mike screeched, unleashing his thoughts fluently. Leonardo didn't answer. Instead, tears began to encircle his eyes. "Once the scientists find out about Venus, you know she's gonna be taken away! You know that! Or maybe it's gonna be one of us, so they can pair her up, just like they did with Raph!" Mike managed to say before he broke down into distressed sobs. His body shuddered with sadness as his world began to collapse around him. 

Leo took Mike into his arms and gave him a supporting hug. "I was so scared Leo," Mike whispered. "You don't know what it's like to be the last one standing," he cried.

"I do," Venus whispered. The two males broke their embrace to look at the female. She had been standing there the whole time, watching the scene unfold, not knowing what to say or do.

"Oh Venus," Mike croaked as he went over and gave her a hug. Although she had never gotten along with Donatello, it still hurt to know that he was gone, and that he was now living alone without them. "Make the pain go away," Mike whimpered over her shoulder. 

A tear drifted down Leo's face as he watched his last two followers despair, knowing that time was slowly running out if they ever wanted to be free. That goal and dream had now become further away, as the power of writing was no longer on their side; they had lost the marker, along with Donatello. 


	10. A Heart in New York

A/N: Well, after this I've only have one more chapter to post up, which will kind of work as an epilogue. I'd like to take the time now to thank you all for reviewing. It's really been appreciated. 

Chapter 10: A Heart in New York.

Things were rather quiet now in the glass prison. It was early morning, and once again the air was cold. The three turtles sat in separate corners, all looking down in the dumps. Mike struggled to keep his eyes open. He had been crying most of the night, and now that morning had come, his eyes felt heavy and swollen. Silence filled the room; a sniffle broke the stillness every once in a while.

"I miss him…" Venus said suddenly with a quiet tone.

"We can rescue him," Mike said almost inaudibly. Silence choked the air again. Michelangelo looked towards the steel door and shuddered. "We have to go out there soon," he said, almost fearfully. There was no response from the other two turtles for a while. Leonardo looked towards Venus and sighed. The female turtle caught his gaze.

"I love you," Leo admitted truthfully, yet he said it in such a way that it sounded as though this would be the last time he would see her. Venus looked at him sorrowfully in the eyes.

"Don't do that. Don't lose hope Leo. We'll get out of here," she looked at her stomach and place a hand on top. "All of us will," she completed. Leo nodded slightly. Mike stared at Venus, before looking at her hand that sat on top of her lower plastron.

"What are you going to call the baby, once it's born?" Mike asked, somewhat surprised with himself that he hadn't mentioned or thought about it earlier. Venus smiled slightly and looked down at her stomach.

"I was thinking that if it's a boy, then I'd call it Raphael. Or I'd call it a name that his father liked, such as Casey," Venus said softly. The other two nodded in agreement. Though some would say that it would be bad to call a child after a deceased friend, as it will always remind the parents of them; this case was different, as the child would remind them of Raphael anyway. 

"What if it's a girl?" Mike asked. Venus shrugged.

"I haven't chosen a name yet," she said honestly. 

At that moment, Dr Aquel entered the room. After a quick routine check, she pushed a button on the control panel for the steel door to open. Reluctantly, the turtles entered the enclosure, knowing that there wasn't any other alternative. Leonardo looked towards the perimeter wall, which was now barren, as the writing from yesterday had been washed off. Leo sighed and followed the others over to the pond. The turtle looked to the wall again and couldn't help but feel that Donatello's sacrifice was a waste. Depressed and angry at the same time, Leonardo looked at the crowds of people that stared at them from above. A thought drifted threw his brain. Maybe Donatello was on the right track after all.

He stared at the girl's familiar face. Leo knew that she came every day to see them. She looked as though she was in her late teens or early twenties. Her dark brown hair was tied back neatly as her hazel eyes gazed sympathetically towards the turtles. She was carrying a red clipboard, which was supported by the daily newspaper underneath, yet she didn't pay any attention to it. Her focus always remained locked on the mutated reptiles. The zoo visitors beside her left, leaving her to be the only one around. 

Sarah watched as the blue male walked towards her. He looked up and stared her straight in the eyes. "Hello," the turtle said simply. She was taken aback for a moment as this hadn't happened before.

"Uh, hi," she responded when the initial shock had worn off.

"I've seen you around here for quite some time," Leo commented. "What are you working on?" he asked, gesturing towards the clipboard in her hands. She looked down at her notes.

"I'm working on a hypothesis for Biology," she said uncertainly, trying to make up her mind about the turtle. He seemed to be kind and considerate, unlike most citizens she had met in the past. Sarah smiled, realising that this creature wasn't necessarily an animal. 

"Oh," Leo exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "What's the hypothesis?"

Sarah stared at him for a moment before answering. "If the recently discovered mutated turtles can move similarly to a human, then their behaviour and habits should also be similar," she said.

A faint smile spread across Leo's face. "What have you concluded then?"

"That you are human," Sarah said with a small smile. She paused for a moment, thinking over everything that she had observed with the turtles. They could speak, write and were able to express feelings through expressions and tears. Leonardo couldn't help but smile back. It had been a long time since he heard someone say that. "My name's Sarah," she introduced.

"Leonardo," the turtle said, gesturing to himself. The other two turtles walked up to stand beside Leonardo after hearing most of the conversation. "This is Michelangelo, and she's Venus," Leo continued to introduce. The other two turtles waved. "Do you what's happened to Donatello?" Leo asked, voice full of concern. Sarah looked at them quizzically for a moment.

"You mean the purple male?" she asked, sounding unsure.

"So that's what they call us," Leo muttered. Sarah looked at the newspaper she was holding and opened it. 

"He's been taken up to Washington DC under the consent of Joseph Fiffer. Apparently he's a well-known mathematician. They're going to observe… Donatello… more closely to see if they can learn anything else from him. They're also going to see if they can get him to cooperate so that they can use him for Government purposes such as cracking high-tech codes," Sarah informed them, still unsure about their names. She dropped the newspaper into the enclosure. "It's on page four," she said.

Leonardo picked the paper up and flicked through the first few pages. His eyes rested on an article titled 'Intelligent Being'. 

"After a local news crew filmed the mutant turtles in their New York enclosure yesterday, the 'purple male' was found to possess a high intellect. For the past few days, writing has appeared on the enclosure's walls, causing people to suspect the local vandals notorious to the city. Yet it was proven yesterday that the sentences were produced by one of the zoo's inhabitants. The turtle managed to write a high level mathematical formulas, proving it's bizarre intelligence, unlike the other three turtles. 

'Only one of the turtles seems to be intelligent', Dr Yesmal, the reptile researcher and caretaker said. 'He needs to be studied more closely before more conclusions can be reached about his intellect'. The purple male has been removed from the zoo and has been transported to Washington DC for further research. Joseph Fiffer, the purple male's new caretaker and the Government's top mathematician, was quite excited with the discovery. 'I can't wait to see what we can learn from him', Joseph Fiffer said. 'It would be great if we can use him for Government purposes. If we can communicate with him, not only will it be a giant step towards understanding animals, but also we might be able to convince him to work on secret codes, since his interest seems to lie in mathematics. I guess only time will tell'," Leo said, reading out most of the article for the other's sake. His eyes skimmed down further just to see if there was anymore useful information.

"So they don't think that the rest of us are intelligent?" Mike asked softly. Leo shook his head.

"That means that we won't get anymore publicity," Leo grunted, still looking at the paper. 

"Isn't that a good thing? That they will leave us alone?" Venus asked, slightly confused.

"Yes and no. If the public think that we're unintelligent animals, then no one will be on our side," Leo sighed. He rolled up the newspaper and threw it back up to Sarah, not wanting to be seen with it, knowing the fate of Donatello. 

"I'm sure there are others in New York who feel that you're not… You guys shouldn't be in here. You're too special to be locked up," Sarah admitted with a compassionate voice. The turtles gave a small smile.

"Thank you," Leo said softly.

*****

Sarah walked through the streets of New York, hoping to find some supporters. She stopped a few selected people on the sidewalk. "Hi. I'm currently holding a petition-" Sarah started to say, only to be ignored completely. She sighed in annoyance, but didn't let it get to her. Sarah looked around and found her next target.

"Hello. I'm holding a petition and I was wondering if you'd like to sign for this cause," she enticed sweetly, planting a false smile on her face. The middle-aged man looked at her.

"What's it for?" he asked, arrogant curiosity heard in his voice.

"It's supporting the understanding that the mutant turtles in the zoo are intelligent creatures, and that they should be treated as such through releasing them back into the wild," Sarah explained. The man shook his head.

"I do think that they are somewhat intelligent. They're probably the next smartest animals after us. But I wouldn't feel comfortable knowing that four mutant turtles are running loose around the city. No, thank you," the man said before continuing on his way. Sarah frowned but kept her hopes up.

She spotted a young woman nearby and decided to try her. "Hello, I'm holding a petition. It's a statement that the turtles are intelligent creatures and should be released back into the wild, due to their rarity as a species, and also because keeping them in a zoo is cruel," Sarah rambled, hoping to make a good impression. 

The woman smiled and nodded. She took the pen out of Sarah's hand and signed the piece of paper. "Apparently those turtles have been living in this city for years. They haven't caused any trouble for society. I've even heard rumors that they fought crime," the woman explained while handing Sarah the pen back. 

The college student looked at the petition, checking that she had filled everything in correctly. "Thank you," Sarah said to the woman before they parted their separate ways.

*****

"The turtles have feelings too. The turtles have feelings too," Sarah chanted, holding up her protest banner. She paced in front of the zoo entrance, determined to succeed. She already had a few followers; most of them were people who had signed the petition, while others were simply animal lovers or greenies. They had been protesting for over two hours now and were getting a fair amount of attention. 

A zoo worker in the ticketing office quickly became worried about the uprising commotion outside. She built up her courage and confronted the protesters. "Excuse me. We are trying to run a business here. Would you kindly stop you're protest?" the zoo worker asked with an authoritative tone. 

"We have a permit to protest here. Call the police station if you want confirmation," Sarah responded. The protesters smiled and continued to march and chant, amused at the zoo workers frustrated snarl.

*****

__

One week later…

Sarah waved and marched with her banner along with another sixty people. Though there wasn't many compared to most protest rallies, there was enough to make a difference. "Free our turtles. Free our turtles," the group chanted, holding up varies signs; some saying 'Intelligence shouldn't be caged up' and 'Free our legends'. It was clear to Sarah that the group's spirits were high on adrenaline and determination. Now was the time.

The protesters stormed through the main gates of the zoo, ignoring the zoo worker's angry shouts. They marched straight to the reptile section, and traveled up the steps to the viewing deck of the turtle's enclosure. With keen eyes, Sarah reached into her green backpack and pulled out a long rope. The turtles looked upwards in astonishment as the protesters cheered at Sarah's actions. She lowered one end of the rope down so that the enclosure's prisoners could easily reach it. 

Without thinking anything, all three turtles grabbed at the chance. Venus climbed the rope first, followed quickly by Mike, then Leo; the protesters held the other end of the rope to make it stable. In under a minute, all of the turtles were free from their enclosure. Leo stared at Sarah completely in disbelief. Sirens were heard in the distance. "You know you're going to be arrested for this," Leo stated with sadness. Sarah nodded as the police sirens grew louder.

Tears were coming to her eyes. "Someone needed to do it," she said simply. Leo nodded.

"You're one in a million you know that," Leo said, admiring her courage to believe in them even though the vast majority of society was not on her side. All of the protesters had grown silent. Some of them fled from the zoo to avoid the cops.

Sarah looked in the direction of the exit. "Well, you better make it worth it," Sarah said softly but with a smile, gesturing for them to run. The turtles bowed in respect and Mike gave her a hug.

"Thank you," the orange-wearing turtle whispered softly. With that, the turtles took off, leaving Sarah to deal with the consequences of her actions. They knew that they would probably never see her again, yet she would always be remembered.

Their hearts pounded with every step they took. Venus looked around wildly, hoping not to spot another tranquilizer dart gun. Just like last time, the zoo visitors screamed as they passed, but they paid no attention. Following the signs and their own instincts, the turtles ran through the gift shop. Mike stopped for a second when he saw a figurine of himself, but Leo managed to grab him and push him through the zoo exit. 

The police cars rolled up at the same time the turtles appeared out on the street, though the cops were too stunned to do anything. Leo used this precious time wisely, and to his utmost delight, found a sewer lid nearby. With not a second to lose, Leonardo ushered everyone down the manhole. The police were hot on their tail, along with the two scientists who had just heard the news. 

The three turtles hurriedly sloshed through the tunnels of New York's sewer system; freedom and fear of failure being their incentive. After ten minutes of strenuous running, Mike stopped suddenly. Venus noticed this. "What's wrong?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

"The tracking devices! They'll know where we are!" Mike panicked. Adrenaline rushed, Leo furiously searched for an answer… and found one. 

Smashed bottles were a common sight in the sewers, as they easily rolled down water drains when it rained. Glass was always a nuisance when they were little, as they kept cutting their bare feet on the thin shards. But this time, the broken bottle would be to their advantage. 

Leo bent down and picked up a sharp shard of glass from the ground. He gently reached out and took Venus' arm, looking her in the eyes to see if she was ready. There was no other alternative. "Wait," Mike called. He smothered his fingers in his own spit and carefully wiped the edge of the glass blade. Leo looked at him weirdly. "It will help to sterilize it a bit. Saliva contains natural healing properties," he informed the others. Leo nodded in understanding.

Venus bit into her own bandanna, as she trusted Leonardo with her arm. He dug the shard of glass into her right shoulder, making a rushed incision in order to extract the small tracking device. Venus looked away and tried to ignore the burning sensation felt by Leo's hasty operation. It was all done in a matter of seconds. Venus' bandanna was wrapped around the gash so there wouldn't be blood trail. Leo moved to Mike next.

Michelangelo bit into his orange bandanna, trying to reduce the sharp pain he felt. He showed his discomfort in his face, but didn't cry or scream, knowing that the police or scientists were getting closer and closer by the second. The orange bandanna was used to compress the wound at the end. 

Mike did the same for Leo. The oldest turtle kept a stern face, knowing not to scream as the glass cut deeply into his shoulder. Blood tumbled out of the cut as Mike poked his finger in and flicked out the troublesome tracking device. Leo's bandanna was taken from his head and tied around his shoulder like the others. 

Torch lights flashed around the sewer's curved tunnels, forcing the turtles to run again. They swiftly climbed down a ladder to the next level down, hoping to fool their pursuers. The three turtles continued to run, not having much of a choice in the matter. 

A half-hour past before the turtles stopped again. The three panted heavily while at the same time looking fearfully behind them. They stayed quiet for a minute until they were certain that no one was nearby. Leo paced around, trying to get his brain to work. After another minute, Leo commanded for them to start running again, but Mike didn't move an inch. 

"Mike! What's wrong?" Leo said tiredly.

"What about Donny?" the turtle asked sadly. Venus and Leo were quiet for a second. "We can't leave him in captivity. We have to save him," Mike said, tears swelling up in his eyes.

"Mikey, Donatello's far away in Washington DC," Venus said softly. 

"We can't forget him," Mike protested.

"Listen. We won't leave him behind, but we can't rescue him now either. They'll be expecting us to do that. We have to wait a while. Right now we need to make sure that we're free ourselves. We have to head for the airport. Don knows the plan. He'll know where we are. I promise that we'll come back for him one day," Leo said solemnly, still looking down the tunnel to see if anyone was near. Mike smiled a little bit, knowing that Leo never went back on his promises.

During the next ten minutes, the turtles reached a familiar destination. It was a niche in a wall where they kept their spare weapons in case of an emergency. Excited, Leo reached for his backup sword, surprised at how heavy it was due to not holding one in weeks. Mike grabbed his tonfas while Venus equipped herself with her kai mi balls. They looked at the bo and the pair of sais that remained all forlorn. Thinking of Donatello, Mike gingerly picked up the bo. They continued to stare at the remaining weapon.

With at look towards the other two, Venus stepped forward and claimed the two sais. "For my child," she said simply, with a tint of sadness and despair in her voice. 

After a moment of remembrance, Leo looked down the tunnel that headed towards their freedom. "So where are we going? London or Sydney?" Mike asked quietly.

"Let fate decide," Leo said, hope in his voice. Venus continued to stare at the two sais in her hands. Her eyes inevitably traveled down to her stomach, a small smile spreading across her face.

"I think I know what I'm going to call her if the baby is a girl," Venus started. The two males smiled.

"What?" they asked curiously.

"Sarah."

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	11. A Vision of Hope

Chapter 11: A Vision of Hope.

Donatello sat quietly in his new cell. There were many differences between his new prison and his old one. Instead of soundproof glass, iron bars were used as the perimeter walls, making the cell more like a cage. A simple padlock was used to fasten the door shut. Another major difference was the presence of a computer system in his barred prison, which he used everyday for entertainment even though it didn't offer him Internet connection; only intelligence tests. Yet the toilet and food tray was still somewhat the same as his old cell in New York.

The room the cage was in was filled with all kinds of computers and high-tech gadgets. Though Donatello still didn't have total freedom, he managed to enjoy the energy and excitement of watching the most qualified mathematicians in the country. 

It was currently early morning, and no one had arrived to work yet, making the place seem barren and quiet. All of a sudden, the door opened as Joseph Fiffer, his new caretaker, stepped inside. The human looked upwards to acknowledge Don, but quickly returned to reading the daily newspaper which he held in his hand. He continued to stare at the object for another minute before speaking to the turtle.

"Sorry Don. But it looks like you won't be able to have a family visit, like I promised," Joseph said. The mathematicians treated him considerably different compared to how the scientists did. It was obvious to Donatello that they wanted him to figure out and solve high level proofs and equations, so therefore they needed to be kind to him. The mathematicians wanted to interact with the overgrown turtle, unlike Dr Yesmal and Aquel. Although Donatello was still locked up for safety and insurance measurements, Joseph gave him whatever he wanted within reason in an attempt to make him agreeable. At one stage Donatello refused to work or talk with the mathematician, but he managed to encourage the reptile to be cooperative by promising a day with his family once a month. Joseph and Donatello had only known each other for over a week, but they managed to build a light friendship.

The mathematician threw the newspaper into Donatello's cage. The turtle picked it up and gasped in surprise at the front page. The words 'Turtles Escape' were written in bold black letters, making it hard to ignore. Intrigued, Donatello began to read the article.

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After a protest went out of control yesterday at New York's zoo, the three mutant turtles were freed from their enclosure. At approximately midday, the group consisting of at least fifty people, stormed into the zoo. The turtles managed to make it to a manhole, before escaping through the sewer tunnels. Police and zoo keepers pursued them for a few miles by following their tracking devices. Oddly enough, the electronic gadgets were found lying in a sewer tunnel, removed from the turtle's shoulders. 

Simon Bonesteel, the man who originally captured the turtles, has been called upon to help in the hunt for the wild animals. 'I know a lot about them', he said in a recent interview. 'I'm sure I can catch them again. They are animals after all'. The police and animal welfare teams are currently making an extensive search through the sewers. The turtles' natural habitat is being watched closely, yet the reptiles as of yet haven't been seen. Animal psychologists are stumped at where they could be. 'They have probably left the state,' Simon Bonesteel said. 'Though we must be sure that they aren't still in the Big Apple first.'

The protest that resulted in freeing the rare animals was a message of sympathy, saying that the mutant turtles were too intelligent and too similar to a human to be locked up. The spokesperson, Sarah Watson, a local college student, was the one who thought up and premeditated the plan for freeing the reptiles. She was arrested yesterday along with another thirty people. Her trial will be held later on in the week.

In the meantime, the city has been put on alert. Anyone that has any information about the turtles' whereabouts has been told to contact the proper authorities immediately. 

Donatello smiled to himself after reading the newspaper article. He knew his family was well and truly out of the country by now. Don sighed and watched as Joseph left the room, obviously to get his morning coffee from the machine outside. 

Donatello didn't know how to feel. He was extremely happy that his family had escaped, yet he was worried and frustrated at the same time, as he wasn't. Don was excited nonetheless. He began to think about his family and the new future that they had. He almost laughed at the thought of Mike delivering Venus' child, and sniggered when he pictured Leonardo freaking out over the birth. Yes, the next couple of months for them would be exciting and scary at the same time. 

A feeling of sadness entered Donatello's mind. He would miss a lot of things; the birth, the child's first steps, the baby's first syllable, and he wouldn't be there for his family in their time of need. Don couldn't help but feel left out. Yet, it did give him something to look forward to. 

He knew his family would never forget him. Knowing Leo, Donatello knew that they'd come back to rescue him… someday. He would wait for them; in the meantime finding contentment in his new lifestyle and dream of mathematics. 

Donatello glossed over the newspaper and smiled to himself once again. "Have fun guys," he whispered to himself. "I'll be waiting."

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End file.
